__NOTOC__ The Portland wind farm is one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's largest

wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...

s. It is owned and operated by Pacific Blue and is located on the coast of south-western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

near the city of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, it consists of four separate sites, all of which have been completed as of 2015. Completion of the entire 195 MW project was expected in 2011, at a capital cost of A$330 million. The project is expected to produce more than 500GWh annually, enough electricity to power about 125,000 homes each year, and equal to more than 7% of Victoria's residential electricity demand, or powering a city the size of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. The project is being developed by Pacific Blue.

History

The Danish turbine manufacturer,

Vestas Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Un ...

, constructed a blade manufacturing facility at nearby

in August 2005. Blades from the plant were intended to support the project. Blades were ultimately sourced from overseas however, and the plant was closed down in December 2007. Vestas cited too little investment support from the Federal government as the reason for the closure. The planning minister approved the construction of wind towers on the Portland capes, including

Cape Bridgewater __NOTOC__ Cape Bridgewater is a locality in the Australian state of Victoria located on the western shore of Bridgewater Bay about south-west of Portland and about west of Melbourne. The area was settled in the 1860s by the Henty family wh ...

, against the recommendations of the a

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the tribunal sits 'below' the Magistra ...

hearing and of a government appointed panel.

Stages

# Yambuk wind farm, the first stage of the project, consists of 20

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

, each measuring tall, with a maximum rated output of 1.5 MW, totalling to a maximum capacity of 30 MW. These were commissioned in January 2007. The wind farm is adjacent to the existing

Codrington Wind Farm Codrington Wind Farm is a wind farm near Yambuk on the coast of south-western Victoria, Australia. Completed in June 2001, the 18.2 MW installation of 14 wind turbines generates 51 GWh annually, for a capital cost of A$30 million by Pacific Bl ...

, and is expected to produce more than 90GWh annually at a capital cost of about 50 million Australian dollars. # Cape Bridgewater wind farm of 58 MW, comprises 29, 2 MW generators. At completion in 2008 it was the largest wind farm in Victoria. # Cape Nelson South wind farm of 44 MW, comprises 22, 2 MW generators. It was completed in 2009. # Cape Sir William Grant wind farm (PWEP IV) of 47 MW, comprises 23, 2.05 MW generators. It was completed in 2015.PacificBlue: Portland Stage IV
, retrieved 20 April 2011

Gallery

File:Yambuk Wind Farm.ogv ,

References

External links

Portland Wind Project

{{Wind farms in Australia Wind farms in Victoria (state) Portland, Victoria Articles containing video clips

History

Stages

Gallery

See also

References

External links