Project Name: Codrington Wind Farms
Location: Portland, Victoria
Theme(s): Energy Alternatives and Reduction

Codrington Wind Farms

Harvesting free and renewable energy

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Download ENSUS Case study: Wind Farms (windfarm_printable.pdf - 559 KB )
In the beginning...
Harnessing wind energy at Codrington
What is needed to build a wind farm?
What was involved in construction?
wind_farmc.ppt 4.83 MB
How wind farms work
Creating jobs and economic benefit for the local economy
Future of Codrington Wind Farm
Useful Resources and Contacts
Acknowledgements

Portland is a small town in south west Victoria, well known for its coastal position. Just east of Portland, Codrington lays exposed to southerly winds from the Southern Ocean.

Wind can cause devastating damage to an area, but its energy can be harnessed as a pollution free energy source.

When Codrington Wind Farm opened in 2001, it was the first wind farm in Victoria and the largest wind farm in Australia, generating enough energy to power 14,000 homes. The vision for this $30 million dollar project did not come out of a large-scale, multi-national company, but from the mind of an individual with a passion for sustainable energy.

In the beginning…

Which would you prefer?

Most electricity in Australia is generated from the burning of coal. This process also produces greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. It is generally acknowledged that excess greenhouse gases may be contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect, resulting in “global warming”. Australia contributes about 186 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year, more per capita than any other developed country worldwide.

Photo: DH

It is important that alternative forms of electricity generation are used to reduce our reliance on coal-fired electricity. “Green power” is electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and hydro (water). Harnessing wind energy minimal land and produces no greenhouse gas emissions.

Harnessing wind energy at Codrington

The Codrington Wind Farm was the brainchild of Grant Flynn, an electrical engineer working in the oil and gas industry. Grant had a long-term interest in using wind as a sustainable energy source. He also understood the potential of Victoria's south west coast. During the mid 1980's, a coastal wind monitoring project by the Victorian Solar Energy Council (now Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria) concluded that the south west coastline of Victoria was potentially suitable afor wind electricity generation.

Image: DH

Failed attempts

A Western Australian gas company, Energy Equity Corporation, were already trying to develop a wind farm around the south west coastline, near Bridgewater Lakes, Cape Nelson and Cape Bridgewater. Although the Local Council had granted a Town Planning Permit for these projects, community appeals delayed the plans for 18 months in the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Grant had heard about Energy Equity's plans to build wind farms and moved to a local engineering firm in Portland. He anticipated that, as an employee, he would work on this project once it was approved.

Taking the lead

When Energy Equity's plans remained in front of the VCAT Grant started his own sustainable energy company (called Sustainable Energy Australia) while still working in Portland and set out to develop a windfarm. He had three sites in mind – Tyrendarra, Tyrendarra East and Codrington. The Tyrendarra site would have impacted 12 landowners and 24 neighbouring properties. After the owners were consulted for their approval, one objected to the project. To avoid further delays, Grant focused on the Codrington site, an area owned by only 2 farmers, with fewer neighbouring properties. The landowners agreed to lease land to Grant's company for the developent of a wind farm.

In January 1999, Grant lodged an application to the Moyne Shire Council, which was initially reluctant to approve his project.

In February 1999, Grant was offered a position with Pacific Hydro, the present owners of the Codrington Wind Farm. He was appointed Wind Power Development Manager. Grant decided to sell the Codrington Wind Farm project plus his services to Pacific Hydro as the project required a high capital outlay.

Pacific Hydro dealt with mainly hydro projects, such as hydro electricity schemes on the Ord River and Lake Glenmaggie in Victoria, but could see the benefits of moving into wind energy.

TOWN PLANNING PERMITS

All municipalities in Victoria are covered by land use planning controls. Town Planning Permits are legal documents from Local Councils giving gives permission to develop or use a piece of land for a specific purpose.

The Permit can contain written conditions and endorsed plans showing the proposed development or land use. Once granted, the permit is made available for public comment. All comments received for the Codrington Wind Farm were positive.

An application was made for a Town Planning Permit to cover the installation of a wind monitoring mast to record wind speeds for 12 months at a cost of $50,000, followed by a wind farm of 14 turbines costing $30million.

Good news yet more hurdles

The Town Planning Permit was granted in April 1999. In August 1999, the wind mast was installed to monitor wind data for 12 months to determine whether winds were sufficient for electricity generation.

The search began for an electricity buyer. Because this project commenced before the Mandated Renewable Energy Target (MRET) was set, it was difficult for Pacific Hydro to find a supportive company. Interest was expressed by Powercor (now Origin Energy), the biggest marketer of Green Power at the time. Powercor's main distribution area was south west Victoria, so it made sense to use locally generated energy.

Tendering for the installation of the actual turbines was next. ANW was selected because they agreed to include 40% locally made materials, and they were willing to train local people in manufacturing, installing and maintaining the turbines. AN Windenergie is a German company that install and maintain wind turbines around the world using “Bonus” turbines, considered to be the Rolls Royce of wind turbines.

The turbines were installed and the Codrington Wind Farm was opened by Premier Bracks in July 2001. It took 6 years of “thinking out of the square” and persevering for Grant to move towards his vision of sustainable energy production.

Wind farm mast installed (Photo: DH)

MANDATED RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET

This target was set by the Australian Government to encourage Electricity retailers to market energy produced from renewable sources.

The MRET requires sourcing of 9,500 gigawatt hours of extra renewable electricity per year by 2010 through to 2020.

Prior to this, there was little incentive for electricity retailers to buy and sell green energy.

“Consulting, passion, patience, perseverance, and someone with a fist full of cash will get you a long way!”

(Grant Flynn, founder of Sustainable Energy Australia)

Some definitions:


		Retailers – sell the electricity to the public. Retailers are required to market green energy as part of the MRET.
Generator – generates electricity, e.g. Loy Yang/Wind farms	Distributors – National Electricity Grid distributes electricity around Australia

Green Power – the registered trademark of national renewable energy projects.www.greenhouse.gov.au/education/factsheets/pubs/green_power.pdf

What is needed to build a wind farm?

Investors seek the following qualities in potential wind farm sites:

Good wind speed. Once a possible site has been located, the wind conditions are monitored for a minimum of 12 months. A turbine needs a fairly constant rate of wind to maximise energy generation.
Proximity to the National Electricity Grid. The large amounts of electricity generated by wind farms can be carried by the National Grid.

Supportive land owners. The Codrington wind farm is built on farming land, as are many wind farms. Land is leased from the farmers. These areas are cleared of obstructions such as trees or buildings. The wind turbines and roads at Codrington take up only 1% of the farming land, so wind farming can be compatible with other farming activities.





	ABOVE: Wind farming is compatible with other farming activities such as grazing and cropping. (Photo: DH) RIGHT: Farmer, Tim Brady, is taking advantage of the tourist potential of the farm by running a small tour operation. This also helps to educate the community about the benefits of wind farming.

What was involved in construction?

Between October 1998 and June 2001, the site was investigated, the wind farm constructed, and electricity production begun. Click here to view a powerpoint presentation showing stages in the development process.

.ppt 4.83 MB

How wind farms work

What is wind?

Coastal areas are usually windy. This is because wind is created when different parts of the earth are heated and cooled. When air is heated, it rises; nearby cold air then rushes in take its place. You may have noticed that the sea breeze blows in from the sea during the day, and out to sea at night. This is why:

Wind generators

Each wind turbine produces up to 1.3 megawatts (MW) of electricity. With 14 turbines, Codrington Wind farm has a combined capacity of 18.2MW, enough to power 14,000 homes.

Wind generators work like fans in reverse. Your fan at home uses electricity to make wind, but the wind generator uses the wind to make electricity. Each generator has its own computer system to monitor wind direction and speed. Electricity production begins with wind speeds of 10 km/h, is maximized at 50km/h, but will turn off when winds reach 90km/h. The maximum speed that the turbines can withstand is 200 km/hr, cyclone speeds. When there is no wind, the turbines do not turn.

At maximum output, the blades rotate at 19 revolutions (turns) per minute.

How fast is 10km/h. Visit this site to find out:www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/atmos_8.pdf

From wind to your home
The electricity generated within the nacelle travels down the tower (left) through cables, to a transformer (above) that increases the voltage of the electricity to match the National Electricity Grid. Using the poles and wires already in place, the electricity is transmitted to a town or city where it enters another transformer where the voltage is reduced ready for use in homes and businesses. (Photos and images: DH)

Creating jobs and economic benefit for the local economy

Wind farms benefit tourism and support local farmers, who receive rent for their land while maintaining farming production. In addition, wind farms generate local employment during planning, manufacturing, installation and maintenance. Up to 90 people are employed during the construction phase for building roads, putting together the turbines on site and as electricians. The turbines require minimal ongoing maintenance. In general, two service and maintenance people are employed for every thirty turbines.

The Codrington Wind Farm has paved the way for other wind farming opportunities. AN Windenergie provided training for local businesses in the area of manufacturing and installation. Pacific Hydro's latest and largest Australian Wind Farm project is planned for other areas around Portland. Local engineering company Keppel Prince, will employ 50 people to make the blades and towers.

Future of the Codrington Wind Farm

The successful wind farm at Codrington is an important milestone in the develoment of a sustainable energy industry in Australia. Electricity will be generated for at least another 25 years, which is the duration of the lease. Over this period, different components of the turbines will need replacing. The blades have a life span of 10-12 years, nacelle generators have a life span of up to 25 years, and the towers themselves should last up to 75 years.