__NOTOC__ The Portland wind farm is one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's largest

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 ...

s. Located on the coast of south-western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

near the city of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 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 500 GWh 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: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. The project is being developed by

Pacific Hydro Pacific Hydro is a renewable energy company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The company was founded in 1992 and was soon floated on the Australian Stock Exchange, it was later bought by a consortium of industry superannuation funds and ...

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 Uni ...

, 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 who ...

, 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 Magistrat ...

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 (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...

, 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, 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.PacificHydro: Portland Stage IV
, retrieved 20 April 2011

References

External links

Portland Wind Project

Portland wind farms gallery

File:Yambuk Wind Farm.ogv , {{center, Yambuk wind farm Wind farms in Victoria (Australia) Portland, Victoria Articles containing video clips

History

Stages

See also

References

External links

Portland wind farms gallery