The Mount Millar Wind Farm is situated on an
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
between the towns of
Cowell and
Cleve on the
Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...
in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. The 35
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s are positioned on the elongated Mount Millar site (about in length) to maximise wind exposure. The
wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...
can generate up to 70 megawatts (MW) of electricity and provide enough energy to meet the needs of about 36,000 typical households.
The Mount Millar Wind Farm was the first wind farm in South Australia to use direct drive turbines that don't have gear boxes.
[Wind power and wind farms in South Australia](_blank)
/ref> It connects to ElectraNet
Electranet is a proposed smart electric grid which would allow people to sell electricity into the grid without any artificial caps. It was proposed in an op-ed article Al Gore wrote in a "My Turn" column for ''Newsweek'' in 2006.
Like the inter ...
’s existing transmission network at Yadnarie Substation, via a new 33 km 132 kV overhead transmission line and substation.[
Construction of this wind farm started in late 2004 and was completed in December 2005. Power production started in February 2006.]Tarong Energy
Tarong Energy was an electricity generation company in Australia. It was fully owned by the Queensland Government, and had a portfolio of generating sites using thermal coal and hydroelectric power in Queensland. Following a review by the Treas ...
and in 2007 sold to Transfield Services
Broadspectrum, formerly known as Transfield Services, was an Australian and New Zealand company that provided infrastructure maintenance services. Formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and later owned by Ferrovial, it was the ...
.[ In 2010 it was purchased by Meridian Energy.Meridian Energy Buys Australian Wind Farm]
Power Technology 10 May 2010
See also
*Wind power in South Australia
Wind power became a significant energy source within South Australia over the first two decades of the 21st century. In 2015, there was an installed capacity of 1,475 MW, which accounted for 34% of electricity production in the state. This acco ...
References
External links
Research Institute for Sustainable Energy -- wind farmsMeridian Energy
{{EnergySA
Energy infrastructure completed in 2006
Eyre Peninsula
Wind farms in South Australia
2006 establishments in Australia