Message-ID: <199703071623.IAA20039@cdp.igc.apc.org> Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 08:23:13 -0800 From: Tom Gray <mailto:tomgray@IGC.ORG> Subject: --Australian Windfarm Plans To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
PACIFIC POWER PLANS 5-MW WIND PLANT IN NEW SOUTH WALESAustralian utility Pacific Power is planning an $8 million, 5-MW wind project in a rural area of New South Wales (NSW), according to U.S. government sources.
The proposed Crookwell project, to be completed by late 1997, will produce power which, if generated by coal-fired production, would create 9,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The wind plant will provide enough electricity for 3,500 homes.
The property will be built on Wharekaroi, a 600-hectare and cattle grazing land that is known for persistent westerly winds which sweep across the rolling hills, and which has a 66-kV transmission line crossing the property. Local electricity distributor Great Southern Energy will offer consumers the opportunities to buy green power at a price 5-10% higher than coal-fired power. The power distributor also hopes to sell wind power to eco-enthusiastic consumers throughout NSW and beyond as Australia's electricity market opens up to full competition over the next three years.
Pacific Power executives have billed the project as a move towards a renewable energy sector not tarred by coal-fired power industry's greenhouse gas emissions (Australia, which depends heavily on coal, is currently one of the last holdouts along with oil-producing nations against global greenhouse emissions cuts). The company has identified other high-wind sites in the district and its next project could produce 25 MW of power.
Pacific Power's development manager, Dr. Robert Lang, said the company wants to put on the ground a number of renewable energy projects. In a decade, Lang said, there will be significant wind and solar energy projects as these technologies represent the future for energy development.
The executive director of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) in NSW, Cathy Zoi, said there is strong investment interest from independent power producers in the wind energy sector in Australia, but the biggest barrier is compiling data on viable locations.
NSW power distributors are obligated under a performance agreement with the state government to develop green energy options. Specific guidelines are to be issued in the next two months.
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