The site
The Woakwine Range is approximately 30 metres high and 120 kilometres long, stretching from Carpenters Rocks in the south to Cape Jaffa in the north. The site provides an excellent wind resource compared to other Australian mainland sites; significant areas of rural land is available for a large scale wind farm; it proximity to transmission infrastructure, and minimal environmental issues – the area being predominantly cleared grazing land. The local community and council are also supportive of the project.
Technology
The 53 wind turbine generators employed at Lake Bonney Wind Farm Stage 2 are Vestas V90 3.0 megawatt (MW) turbines, which have a successful operating history and are in wide use around the world. The turbine hub height is 80 metres and the blade length is 45 metres.
Article continues below…An underground cable network within the wind farm links each turbine to a purpose built 132 kilovolt (kV) substation at the southern end of the site.
Energy purchase and supply
On average, the wind farm is expected to produce in excess of 450 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per annum, enough to power 100,000 households. The power generated from the asset is sold into the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The generator is registered as a scheduled, market generator in the NEM and is in operation intermittently. The generator is also an accredited generator under the Australian Mandatory Renewable Energy Scheme and the Green Power Scheme.
The wind farm is connected via a substation located onsite to a purpose built 132 kV transmission line which connects to Electranet’s 132 kV transmission grid at the Snuggery substation approximately 9 km from the wind farm.
Environmental impact
The plant is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 450,000 tonnes per annum – the equivalent to removing more than 100,000 cars from the road each year.
