Antinuclear

The facts on wind power in Australia

Although the cost of wind energy continues to fall, government support such as the Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme is crucial to support investment in the industry and enables the wind power sector to play a major role in helping Australia’s transition to a low carbon economy. The introduction of a price on carbon, which is anticipated for
mid-2012, will provide the focal point of the government’s strategy to reduce emissions.

Five new wind farm projects were commissioned in 2011 in Australia, Reve April 23, 2012 At the end of 2011, Australia had 1,211 operating wind turbines across 58 wind power plants with a total installed wind energy capacity of 2,224 MW.

Australia’s exceptional wind resources have allowed wind energy to make an increasing contribution to Australia’s energy mix. Although it is still a relatively new industry, wind farm supplies over 6,400 GWh annually, which represents more than 2% of national electricity consumption.

At the end of 2011, Australia had 1,211 operating wind turbines across 58 wind power plants with a total installed wind energy capacity of 2,224 MW. The total installed capacity of wind power has grown by an average of 35% per year over the past five years.

Although the cost of wind energy continues to fall, government support such as the Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme is crucial to support investment in the industry and enables the wind power sector to play a major role in helping Australia’s transition to a low carbon economy. The introduction of a price on carbon, which is anticipated for
mid-2012, will provide the focal point of the government’s strategy to reduce emissions.

Five new wind farm projects were commissioned in 2011, adding 234 MW
of capacity to the Australian electricity grid: Hallett 4 (132.3 MW),
Woodlawn (48 MW), Gunning (46.5 MW), Hepburn (4.1 MW) and Mt Barker
(2.4 MW). A further seven wind energy projects, totaling 1,060 MW, are
currently under construction and expected to be completed within the
next three years in the states of Victoria, W Australia, Tasmania, New
South Wales and South Australia.

An additional 13 GW of wind turbines projects are proposed for
development in Australia, and have either received planning and
environmental approvals or are currently applying for them, and
another 5 GW of projects are undergoing feasibility studies.

The size of Australian wind farms is increasing. Acciona’s 192 MW
Waubra wind farm in Victoria is currently the largest in the country
with 128 wind turbines spread over 173 square kilometres. However, AGL
/ Meridian Energy’s 420 MW Macarthur Wind Farm in Victoria will be
significantly larger if constructed in its proposed form.

Nationally, wind power is spread over most states. South Australia has
the highest capacity (1,151 MW), accounting for 52% of the total
national wind capacity, and produces more than 20% of its electricity
from wind power. Victoria follows with 432 MW, New South
Wales (282 MW), Western Australia (204 MW), Tasmania (143 MW) and
Queensland with 12 MW…..
The Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme is
designed to deliver 20% of Australia’s electricity supply from
renewable sources by 2020. The Large-scale Renewable Energy Target
(LRET) and the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) provide
incentives designed to bridge the gap between the price of black
electricity and renewable energy, and are expected to yieldmore than
45,000 GWh in 2020.

The RET is crucial in supporting investment in the renewable energy
industry and it provides the main incentive for wind power development
in Australia, unlocking an expected investment of more than AUD 20
billion (EUR 16.09 billion / USD 21.14 billion) over this decade.
……
Wind energy today is the fastest growing large scale renewable energy
source for electricity generation in Australia. A report prepared by
Garrad Hassan for the Clean Energy Council predicts that an additional
6.9 GW of wind power would be constructed under the enhanced RET by
2020. With the right policy mix and increased demand for low emission
energy, wind energy can remain a major contributor to the challenge of
decarbonising Australia’s energy mix.

A transmission system that can accommodate high rates of wind
penetration in some areas is required. Upgrades and extensions to
parts of the electricity grid would support the expansion of the wind
power sector. In the past year, the Australian wind industry has been
working extensively to ensure that communities are engaged and
informed about the economic benefits that wind turbines projects can
bring to the community.

1 Australian Government, Department of Climate Change and Energy
Efficiency: Renewable Energy Target Scheme. http://
www.climatechange.gov.au/en/government/initiatives/renewable-target/legislation.aspx

2 Australian Government, Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator: The
Large-scale Renewable Energy Target.
www.orer.gov.au/About-the-Schemes/lret

3 Australian Government, Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator: The
Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
www.orer.gov.au/About-the-Schemes/sres

4 Australian Government: Clean Energy Future Package/Clean Energy
Finance Corporation.
www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/clean-energy-future/our-plan/clean-energy-australia/financing-clean-technologies/

5 Australian Government, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism:
Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
http://www.ret.gov.au/energy/clean/arena/Pages/arena.aspx
http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=18028

April 23, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, wind | wind