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Coalition to divert renewable energy funding away from wind and solar

Coalition to divert renewable energy funding away from wind and solar

Scott Morrison says solar and wind are commercially viable and do not need subsidies from the $1.43bn funding,    Guardian,  Katharine Murphy and Adam Morton, Thu 17 Sep 2020 The Morrison government will continue to fund Australia’s renewable energy agency to the tune of $1.43bn over a decade but overhaul its mandate so there will be less investment in solar and wind, and more focus on investment in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, microgrids and energy efficiency.The baseline funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) will be supplemented by a transfer of funds from the government’s emissions reduction fund and a new grants program worth $193.4m – but that represents a funding cut to the agency which was established by the Gillard government in 2011.

The significant overhaul will be unveiled by Scott Morrison on Thursday ahead of the government outlining its next steps in the technology roadmap, which is the government’s emissions reduction strategy. The energy minister, Angus Taylor, is expected to unveil the government’s inaugural low emissions technology statement during a speech at the National Press Club early next week……..

The Morrison government will continue to fund Australia’s renewable energy agency to the tune of $1.43bn over a decade but overhaul its mandate so there will be less investment in solar and wind, and more focus on investment in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, microgrids and energy efficiency………

The government will also continue to plough more taxpayer funds into carbon capture and storage through a $50m fund, while $70.2m will be allocated for an export hydrogen hub. …….

The overhaul of Arena follows the government outlining first steps in its much vaunted “gas-led recovery” from the economic shock caused by the coronavirus. Morrison on Tuesday pointed to new commitments in the October budget, including funding of $52.9m to unlock more gas supply and boost transport infrastructure.

As well as flagging that the government would back the construction of a new gas-fired power station in the Hunter Valley if the energy company AGL failed to replace Liddell, Morrison held open the option of taxpayer underwriting for priority gas projects, streamlining approvals or creating special purpose vehicles for new investment.

While Morrison and Taylor have been muscling up about the importance of new generation to replace Liddell, the government’s proposition has not been backed by a taskforce report commissioned to assess the impact of its closure.

Morrison said this week the government had estimated 1,000 megawatts of new dispatchable electricity generation capacity would be needed to replace Liddell, which owner AGL has announced will close in early 2023.

But the taskforce does not find that 1,000MW of additional dispatchable electricity would be needed. It listed a range of energy committed and probable projects that it found would be “more than sufficient” to maintain a high level of power grid reliability as Liddell shut.https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/17/coalition-to-divert-renewable-energy-funding-away-from-wind-and-solar

September 17, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, solar, wind | Leave a comment

First offshore wind farm in Australia being tested

Testing begins for first offshore wind farm in Australia, The Age, By Benjamin Preiss, November 10, 2019 —Scientific testing begins this month for Australia’s first proposed offshore wind farm, near Gippsland, which could provide enough power for more than 1.2 million homes.

The testing comes as the union movement launches a campaign to lobby the state and federal governments to smooth the way for the project to proceed.

The Star of the South wind farm is expected to provide up to 2000 megawatts of power − about 18 per cent of the state’s power demand − and is set to cost between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Within weeks, the company will begin detailed studies of the wind and wave conditions at the 496-square-kilometre area off the south coast of Gippsland. It will also conduct environmental studies on marine and bird life.

If considered feasible, the wind farm is slated to provide “full power” by 2027.

Unions hope the wind farm will provide secure jobs for electricity workers in the Latrobe Valley, where the economy has relied heavily on coal-fired power generation.

The Latrobe Valley was hit hard by the closure of the Hazelwood power plant in 2017, and remaining coal-fired power plants are scheduled to begin closing in coming decades.

The broader region is bracing for more job losses with the state government phasing out native timber logging by 2030, sparking a furious response from the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union.

Previous estimates indicated the Star of the South wind farm could include 250 turbines but that is yet to be determined. Its proposed site is between 10 kilometres and 25 kilometres from Port Albert.

Last week a group of unions and Victorian Trades Hall Council launched a report calling for a “direct transition” to help redeploy workers in fossil fuel industries to jobs at Star of the South.

They want the commonwealth to establish a “transition authority” and a master plan to develop offshore renewable energy……

The Victorian government has set a renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030…..https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/testing-begins-for-first-offshore-wind-farm-in-australia-20191110-p53970.html?fbclid=IwAR2pEmquJ0zzGw5egjYDTM1H6loOXZBaaTWIPAY0brsixjmlUuwiU4r-_lg

November 11, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, wind | Leave a comment

Morrison govt stalls Australia’s first offshore wind farm

Australia’s first offshore wind farm being stalled by Morrison Government http://www.mua.org.au/australia_s_first_offshore_wind_farm_being_stalled_by_morrison_government?fbclid=IwAR03wrT3rnusfJfKqLdcDaHlm2qGTdLjKAUBBcVQbhTv-PfxC3_CmeSwEFE

by Mua Comms on February 21, 2019

Development of Australia’s first offshore wind farm, which would power up to 1.2 million homes, has been stalled by Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s failure to sign off on an exploration license allowing a detailed assessment of the wind resource to commence.

Development of Australia’s first offshore wind farm, which would power up to 1.2 million homes, has been stalled by Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s failure to sign off on an exploration license allowing a detailed assessment of the wind resource to commence.

The Department of the Environment and Energy confirmed during Senate Estimates that an evaluation of the project has been undertaken, a plan for a customised exploration license developed, and a briefing and recommendations provided to the Energy Minister, but that the project can progress no further without the Minister granting the exploration license.

The Star of the South project seeks to construct 250 wind turbines in Commonwealth waters off the coast of Victoria’s Gippsland region, generating up to 20 per cent of Victoria’s electricity needs and feeding the power into the National Electricity Market via an underground cable to the Latrobe Valley.

The Maritime Union of Australia said the project — which the company claims will create up to 12,000 manufacturing and construction jobs and slash Australia’s carbon emissions — appeared to be falling victim to the Morrison Government’s ideological hatred of renewable energy.

MUA Deputy National Secretary Will Tracey said the exploration license awaiting approval did not allow construction to commence and was simply about allowing the use of floating buoys and platforms off the Gippsland coast to gather wind and wave observations.

“We have a major wind project that would create thousands of jobs and provide clean, reliable energy for more than a million Australian households, but because of their ideological hatred of renewable energy the Morrison Government appears to be actively stalling its development,” Mr Tracey said.

“The Star of the South project has been in the works since 2012, yet in this time no legislation has been put forward, no regulatory framework put in place, and no responsible agency nominated, despite offshore wind being an established industry internationally.

“Now we have revelations from Senate Estimates that Energy Minister Angus Taylor has been briefed on the project and presented with recommendations, yet the exploration license continues to sit on his desk gathering dust.

“Rather than support renewable energy projects, under the Morrison Government we can’t even get approval for a few wind measurement buoys off the Gippsland coast.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor must get off his hands and immediately allow the Star of the South wind project to move forward to the exploration stage.”

Mr Tracey said offshore wind generation was a mature industry internationally which has successfully operated for two decades, but Australia was falling behind, putting future employment opportunities at risk.

“This project isn’t just about generating renewable energy and tackling climate change, it’s about creating secure jobs for the future, particularly for workers who are being displaced from the offshore oil and gas industries,” he said.

“The Federal Government urgently needs to put in place a plan to support the development of the offshore wind industry, including a clear regulatory framework, along with the right port infrastructure and specialised construction vessels to roll out this project and others like it as quickly as possible.”

February 25, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics, wind | Leave a comment

South Australia now supplying electricity to Victoria, as wind power surges

Victoria now relying on SA for power as wind production rises and coal plants close, Adelaide Now Daniel Wills, State Political Editor, The Advertiser December 3, 2018 Green-powered South Australia is now sending Victoria more electricity than it takes back as wind production surges, leading energy experts to warn that more storage is the key to keeping the local grid stable.

A major report from the Australian Energy Market Operator has revealed SA was a net exporter to Victoria during the 2017-18 financial year, marking the first time that has happened in at least nine years.

However, the switch is mostly due to the closure of Victoria’s huge Hazelwood coal-fired power station, leaving it more reliant on SA for power.

AEMO warns both states are at risk of forced blackouts this summer due to possible power shortages.

SA’s emergency diesel generators could be needed to keep lights on. It says plans to link SA and NSW with a new interconnector “will be critical to help maintain reliability in an efficient manner”.

SA Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan has seized on the findings as evidence his election pledge to deliver the NSW link should be fast-tracked.

He said a new scheme to add subsidised home batteries to rooftop solar systems would also help better use SA’s renewable power. Just under half of SA’s power supply is renewable………..https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/victoria-now-relying-on-sa-for-power-as-wind-production-rises-and-coal-plants-close/news-story/bdd06cf1b584e1cf18f0d03994b679c7?fbclid=IwAR238objot3GsYDha-K_aCBO6PKs_7UIDmlbOHTwESKiLsCXF3ezqtV2OCs

December 3, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | South Australia, wind | Leave a comment

China General Nuclear Power Corporation buys 75% stake in wind power project from Australia’s Macquarie Group

Reuters 18th July 2018 ,China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) has acquired a 75 percent
stake in a Swedish wind power project from Australia’s Macquarie Group and GE Energy Financial Services, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The North Pole wind power project, located in Pitea, Sweden, is expected to be operational by the end of 2019 with a capacity of 650,000 kilowatts, making it the single largest onshore wind power park in Europe, Xinhua said.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cgn-sweden/chinas-cgn-acquires-75-percent-of-swedish-wind-farm-xinhua-idUSKBN1K81IC?rpc=401&

July 19, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, wind | Leave a comment

Australia’s scarce water could be helped by solar and wind power

Solar and wind could ease Australia’s water shortage https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/solar-and-wind-could-ease-australia-s-water-shortage-20180513-p4zf1t.html -By Cole Latimer, 14 May 2018  

Australia is one the world’s top 20 water-stressed nations but a shift to more renewable energy could lessen the nation’s water pressure.

A report by the World Resources Industry identified Australia as one country vulnerable to water stress where the potential for cheap renewable energy, solar and wind as opposed to fossil fuels, could reduce water consumption country-wide as these technologies use minimal – or zero – water.

“By better managing their limited water resources and investing in the right energy systems these renewable forms of energy can help countries meet their increased demand for electricity without adding carbon emissions or consuming water,” the World Resources Institute’s manager for water, Tianyi Luo, said.

Every megawatt hour of electricity generated by coal withdraws around 60,700 litres and consumes about 2600 litres of water.

In the financial year to date, Australian’s have consumed 147 terrawatt hours of electricity, about 73 per cent of which comes from coal, which equates to around 455 billion litres of water.

Major hydro generation projects such as Snowy Hydro, which is set to play an even greater role in the nation’s energy mix, are solely reliant on Australia’s vulnerable water supplies.

“This could be particularly beneficial in countries where growing populations, farms and industries are already competing for scant water supplies”

A major issue with coal-fired generation is the amount of water it consumes.

Energy production accounts for around 10 per cent of the world’s water consumption, the International Energy Agency’s 2016 World Energy Outlook stated.

South Africa’s Cape Town is the world’s first major city to potentially run out of water, as climate change, major droughts and heavy water usage sapped water supplies. During Sydney’s last major drought, water levels in the Warragamba dam fell as low as 30 per cent.

The costs of water rises as its scarcity grows with Infrastructure Australia forecasting an annual water bill of $2500 by 2040.

The WRI report ranked Australia 17th for its potential solar power. It has a level of 232.5 in global horizontal irradiance wattage per metre squared, a measure of the strength and concentration of the solar power hitting a solar panel, which is 58 million petajoules of energy, or about 10,000 times the nation’s annual energy consumption.

The size of a solar farm needed to power all of Australia would cover about 6270 square kilometres or approximately 0.1 per cent of the country.

This potential put it only just behind Iran but ahead of Kuwait and Israel. Yemen was rated first.

However, Australia is falling well short of its utilising its solar potential, a global energy expert said.

“Australia is not living up to its potential for power generation. It should be aiming for 100 per cent renewable energy, but Australia is up against the older, entrenched fossil fuel industry,” chief executive of energy investor Energiya Global Capital, Yosef Abramowitz, told Fairfax Media.

Solar energy currently accounts for around 5 per cent of Australia’s total power generation.

Australia ranks fifth for high levels of wind power for water-stressed countries, with an average wind potential of 6.1. metres a second. It ranked ahead of the US, but just behind Bahrain.

A recent report by the University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures said Australia’s potential onshore wind resources could power the nation 12 times over, but currently only account for six per cent of energy generation.

May 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, environment, solar, wind | Leave a comment

Australia’s first offshore wind farm wins international funding

The Age , Cole Latimer, 6 Dec 17, Australia’s first offshore wind farm, an $8 billion 2000 megawatt project, has secured financial backing from a major international green energy investment fund.

Offshore Energy has joined with Danish fund management group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partnership to develop the renewable energy project.

The offshore wind farm, dubbed the Star of the South, will be built 10 to 25 kilometres off the coast of Victoria’s Gippsland region, in the Bass Strait, and could provide one and a half times the energy of the now-closed Victorian Hazelwood coal-fired power station.

Offshore Energy managing director Andy Evans told Fairfax Media the partnership would transform the company and lift the viability of offshore wind for Australia………

Star of the South is currently Australia’s only offshore wind project.

“The industry doesn’t really exist at the moment,” Mr Evans told Fairfax Media.

He said there is currently a greater focus on solar and onshore wind projects in Australia, as they are currently cheaper than offshore wind, however, “the cost of offshore will come down, and has already seen falling costs in Europe.”

However, it is not Australia’s only offshore renewable energy project in development.

There are a number of wave energy projects currently underway around the nation’s coast. Wave Swell Energy is one wave energy generator that is also using the Bass Strait as its testing grounds.

The group is carrying out commercial validation of its technology off King Island, in the Bass Strait.

It has signed an offtake agreement with Hydro Tasmania for an initial 200-kilowatt trial unit, and will operate during 2018 after its initial funding goals are reached. http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/australia-s-first-offshore-wind-farm-international-funding-20171205-p4yxfb.html

December 8, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Victoria, wind | Leave a comment

Wind Energy – a brave new world for New South Wales farmers

Wind Alliance to host public forum for landholders in Kentucky to bust myths about living with turbines http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/5074983/farmer-busts-the-myths-behind-living-with-turbines/ Rachel Baxter , 24 Nov 17 

Millions of dollars are being injected into the New England for large-scale renewable projects every year.

And while it might be daunting for many farmers, it’s a brave new world we have to get used to, Wind Alliance NSW organiser Charlie Prell says.

 A fourth generation farmer from Crookwell and a turbine host himself, Mr Prell is holding a forum in Kentucky this week to shed light on common myths about renewable projects.

He said a major issue is when neighbouring properties are left with no say and no money while next door gets the benefits. “It’s really easy to solve,” he said. “The Wind Alliance has been promoting this thing called benefit sharing.” It’s all about strategic options for delivering ownership for wind farms in NSW, Mr Prell said.

“It’s so most people are not excluded from projects,” he said. “They probably won’t get paid as much as a host but at the moment there’s a cliff face where the host gets paid a lot and the neighbours get paid nothing.“Obviously they become disillusioned and skeptical by that process.”

Mr Prell said if neighbours are paid on a sliding scale depending on their proximity to the turbines, instead of a “cliff face” there’s a gradual decline.

“There’s no economic precedent for doing that but in small regional communities it actually makes a whole lot of social sense,” he said. Continue reading →

November 24, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New South Wales, wind | Leave a comment

Surge in wind farms in Australia, drop in complaints about them

‘Desultory’: Wind farm complaints aren’t keeping up with surging industry, The Age, Peter Hannam, 19 Nov 17,  The surge in new wind farm developments has failed to produce an upswing in complaints, with just nine of the 79 projects operating in Australia receiving any formal objections, Andrew Dyer, the National Wind Farm Commissioner, has said.

As of the end of October, the commission had received 54 complaints, for existing projects, with all but two resolved. Four people had relocated as part of the resolution process.

“There are no complaints for recently completed wind farms,” Mr Dyer told Fairfax Media.

Victorian wind farms have attracted the bulk of objections, accounting for 31 of the 54, while SA and NSW had 16 and seven complaints, respectively. Operating wind farms in other states have not triggered any complaints, Mr Dyer said.

The National Wind Farm Commissioner’s three-year term – which began in late 2015 with $2 million funding – followed a Senate inquiry prompted in part by efforts of a few anti-wind turbine groups.

Fears by supporters of renewable energy that the commission may have spurred an uptick in opposition to wind farms have largely been allayed, with the role now seen as helping developers understand and respond better to community concerns.

Simon Chapman, whose upcoming book, Wind turbine syndrome: A communicated disease, describes the number of complaints as “desultory”, said opposition to the industry from the cross-bench senators had backfired.

“There are no complaints for recently completed wind farms,” Mr Dyer told Fairfax Media.

Victorian wind farms have attracted the bulk of objections, accounting for 31 of the 54, while SA and NSW had 16 and seven complaints, respectively. Operating wind farms in other states have not triggered any complaints, Mr Dyer said.

The National Wind Farm Commissioner’s three-year term – which began in late 2015 with $2 million funding – followed a Senate inquiry prompted in part by efforts of a few anti-wind turbine groups.

Fears by supporters of renewable energy that the commission may have spurred an uptick in opposition to wind farms have largely been allayed, with the role now seen as helping developers understand and respond better to community concerns.

Simon Chapman, whose upcoming book, Wind turbine syndrome: A communicated disease, describes the number of complaints as “desultory”, said opposition to the industry from the cross-bench senators had backfired…….

 

Booming industry

Fairfax Media understands that some complaints originated from cases where landholders had expectations of hosting turbines and subsequently were denied that chance due to factors beyond their control.

A number of complaints citing a wind farm as at fault for a particular issue were resolved after the root cause of the problem was found to be something completely different. These complaints ranged from health-related matters through to poor television reception…….http://www.theage.com.au/environment/desultory-wind-farm-complaints-arent-keeping-up-with-surging-industry-20171116-gzn3q2.html

November 20, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, wind | Leave a comment

Mount Emerald Wind Farm reaches major construction milestone

By Republic on 14 August 2017,Construction at the $360 million Mount Emerald Wind Farm near Mareeba reached an important milestone last week when the first of 53 turbine foundations was put in place.

The 800-tonne foundation which is buried to ground level provides an immovable anchor for each turbine and consists of a 50-tonne reinforced steel cage filled with around 350m3 tonnes of concrete, or up to 70 truckloads.

Ratch Australia Corporation Executive General Manager Business Development, Mr Anthony Yeates, said the first foundation was always a special milestone in wind farm construction. Continue reading →

August 14, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Queensland, wind | Leave a comment

The facts on wind farms and bird deaths

Wind farms are hardly the bird slayers they’re made out to be. Here’s why, The Conversation, Simon Chapman Emeritus Professor in Public Health, University of Sydney, June 16, 2017, People who oppose wind farms often claim wind turbine blades kill large numbers of birds, often referring to them as “bird choppers”. And claims of dangers to iconic or rare birds, especially raptors, have attracted a lot of attention.

Wind turbine blades do indeed kill birds and bats, but their contribution to total bird deaths is extremely low, as these three studies show.

A 2009 study using US and European data on bird deaths estimated the number of birds killed per unit of power generated by wind, fossil fuel and nuclear power systems.

It concluded:

wind farms and nuclear power stations are responsible each for between 0.3 and 0.4 fatalities per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil-fuelled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh.

That’s nearly 15 times more. From this, the author estimated:

wind farms killed approximately seven thousand birds in the United States in 2006 but nuclear plants killed about 327,000 and fossil-fuelled power plants 14.5 million.

In other words, for every one bird killed by a wind turbine, nuclear and fossil fuel powered plants killed 2,118 birds……

And in Australia?

In Australia in 2006 a proposal for a 52-turbine wind farm plan on Victoria’s south-east coast at Bald Hills (now completed) was overruled by the then federal environment minister Ian Campbell.

He cited concerns about the future of the endangered orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chrysogaster), a migratory bird said to be at risk of extinction within 50 years. The Tarwin Valley Coastal Guardians, an anti wind farm group that had been opposing the proposed development…….

Perhaps the final word on this topic should go to the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It built a wind turbine at its Bedfordshire headquarters to reduce its carbon emissions (and in doing so, aims to minimise species loss due to climate change). It recognised that wind power is far more beneficial to birds than it is harmful.


Simon Chapman and Fiona Crichton’s book, Wind Turbine Syndrome: a communicated disease, will be published by Sydney University Press later this year.

June 19, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, reference, wind | Leave a comment

Josh Frydenberg, Minister For Fossil Fuel Energy, prevents hybrid renewable energy plus battery storage microgrid at Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe microgrid in doubt as Frydenberg rules out wind turbines http://reneweconomy.com.au/39084-2/, By Sophie Vorrath on 13 June 2017 One Step Off The Grid

Plans to install a hybrid renewable energy plus battery storage microgrid at New South Wales’ Lord Howe Island, and slash its diesel fuel use, have hit a major political snag, after the federal energy minister intervened to rule out the wind power component of the long-awaited, ARENA-backed project.

The project – which has been in the works for some six years now, and in 2014 won a $4.5 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and a $5.6 million loan from NSW Treasury – was to install 500kW of wind, 400kW solar PV and 400kWh of battery storage, in an effort to cut the island’s diesel usage by two-thirds.

Just one year ago the Lord Howe Island Board called for tenders for the installation of the first stage of the project’s development.

But the Board’s manager of infrastructure and engineering services, Andrew Logan, said Minister Frydenberg had ruled, late last week, that the impacts of the proposed two 250kW wind turbines on the Island’s World and National Heritage values – particularly on its ‘visual landscape’ – were unacceptable. Continue reading →

June 14, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, New South Wales, politics, wind | Leave a comment

Space for more wind farms in Tassie

TASMANIA has the capacity to support two or three more wind farms before it needs to invest in its electricity transmission infrastructure, energy analysts say.
http://www.themercury.com.au/business/space-for-more-wind-farms-in-tasmania-before-infrastructure-investment-is-needed/news-story/2bfaec7ca841b5a2ca274aa0758984c3

June 9, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Tasmania, wind | Leave a comment

Victoria’s grid could be dominated by wind and solar

Network owner Ausnet sees grid dominated by wind and solar http://reneweconomy.com.au/network-owner-ausnet-sees-grid-dominated-by-wind-and-solar-19103/ By Giles Parkinson on 16 May 2017

Ausnet Services, the largest operator of electricity and gas networks in Victoria, has given its vision of what the grid of the future might look like in that state – and it is one dominated by wind and solar.

That is probably not surprising, given that the state government is likely to have its target of 40 per cent renewable energy generation by 2025 locked into legislation in the next few months. But it does reflect how quickly the nature of generation in the state most dependent on brown coal will change. Continue reading →

May 16, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | solar, Victoria, wind | Leave a comment

New South Wales wind farm to power 49,000 ACT homes

NSW’s Sapphire Wind Farm to power 49,000 ACT homes, Canberra Times, Georgina Connery, 27 Apr 17, It is a regional NSW project closer to the Queensland border than to Canberra, but within months the Sapphire Wind Farm will generate power for around 49,000 ACT homes. After a flight to Armidale and long car ride west of Glen Innes, climate change minster Shane Rattenbury toured the facility on Thursday.

The wind farm will be NSW’s largest once it is completed.

It is owned by CWP Renewables, a joint venture between two European renewable energy companies, and was one of two successful projects in the ACT’s 2015 second wind auction.

The farm entered into a 20 year contract to supply 100 megawatts of its 270 megawatt output to the ACT government and by mid next year 32 wind turbines will come online to supply energy for the territory.

“Construction commenced in January 2017 on the 100 megawatt Sapphire 1 wind farm, which is another significant step in progress towards the ACT’s 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020 target,” Mr Rattenbury said.

“The ACT supported part of the wind farm will generate 349,703 megawatt-hours per year.”

The ACT government’s reverse auctions have secured generating capacities of 40 megawatts from large-scale solar and 600 megawatts from wind farms over the past few years…… http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/nsws-sapphire-wind-farm-to-power-49000-act-homes-20170426-gvtejh.html

April 28, 2017 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ACT, New South Wales, wind | Leave a comment

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