Coopers Gap Wind Farm is a 453

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

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 to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

in the Western Downs and

South Burnett The South Burnett is a peanut growing and wine-producing area on the Great Dividing Range, north of the Darling Downs, in Queensland. It is with the basin of the Burnett River. The area is within two local government areas, South Burnett Region ...

regions of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It is located approximately 175 km north-west of the state capital

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, and 50 kilometres south-west of

Kingaroy Kingaroy is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways, north-west of the state capital Brisbane and south west of Gympie. As a ...

and 65 km north of Dalby. When construction was announced to be completed on 30 April 2020, it became the largest wind farm in Australia. This record was held until 10 December 2020 when the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm in

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 ...

was completed.

Site

The wind farm is located in a hilly area, approximately 5 km to the north-west of the

Bunya Mountains The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains ne ...

. It is located approximately north-west of the state capital

, and south-west of

and north of Dalby. The area is mostly cleared, cattle-grazing country and was originally planned to cover approximately in total, however the site area was reduced later in the development process to . The site has an elevation of 535 to 840m. The project falls within both the

South Burnett Regional Council The South Burnett Region is a local government area in the South Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. Origins This Local Government was created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in ...

and

Western Downs Regional Council Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ...

jurisdictions.

History

The side was identified by Windlab using their proprietary '' WindScape'' wind mapping technology in late 2005, and a 60-metre wind-monitoring mast was installed in March 2006 in order to accurately measure wind speed and direction in the area.Coopers Gap Wind Farm
. Windlab Systems. After twelve months of data capture, the proponents began securing land and pre-feasibility studies started. In 2009, development approval was expected in the same year. In April 2011, some local landholders expressed concerns at a community forum related to health effects and the noise of the wind turbines, some of which would be less than a kilometre from homes. In March 2017, the project was approved by the Coordinator-General. The approved project consisted of up to 115 turbines, with a maximum tip height of 180m, and a maximum rotor diameter of 140m. The first turbine generated electricity to the grid on 24 June 2019. In June 2021, it was reported that GE Catcon had successfully demolished a faulty turbine tower on 27 May 2021 after faults were discovered during the commissioning process. Additionally, a further 50 turbines required component replacement after generator issues inside their nacelles were identified.

Project

For a period of time, Coopers Gap was the largest wind farm in Australia. With a total generation capacity of up to , annually is expected to generate 1.51 million megawatt hours of energy, with a corresponding

capacity factor The net capacity factor is the unitless ratio of actual electrical energy output over a given period of time to the theoretical maximum electrical energy output over that period. The theoretical maximum energy output of a given installation is def ...

of 38%. The wind farm consists of 123 turbines extending across a series of ridge lines within the site. The

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 yea ...

s are approximately in height from the tower base to the tip of the blade.Coopers Gap Wind Farm Information Brochure
. Windlab Systems. Ninety-one of the turbines are rated at 3.6 MW with towers high, with the blades approximately in length and a corresponding rotor diameter of . There are also 32 turbines rated at 3.8 MW with a rotor diameter of , but at a taller hub height of . The construction costs of the project were initially to be over $1.2 billion, however construction costs reduced from the start of the development process, so the final cost was A$850 million. The electricity generated from each turbine is transmitted via underground or above ground cabling to a central cable marshalling point at the on site substation, which is located along the 275 kV power line that runs through the site area. The substation then connects directly into the grid network on site. It is expected to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

by up to 2.2 million tonnes annually.

Operations

The wind farm registered its first grid output in June 2019 and was fully commissioned in June 2021. It was planned to be commissioned late in 2020. On 19 June 2021, the wind farm reached an output of 438.2 MW, or 99.59% of its maximum registered output of 440 MW. Note: Asterisk indicates power output was limited during the month.

References

{{EnergyQueensland Wind farms in Queensland Wide Bay–Burnett Darling Downs

Site

History

Project

Operations

See also

References