If approved by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia, the wind turbines will produce the equivalent of 10 per cent of South Australia’s current electricity consumption, Trustpower community relations manager Graeme Purches said yesterday.
"This wind project will consolidate South Australia as the leading state in the nation for renewable energy generation," Mr Purches said. "The power produced by the new stage two development will supply the needs of 170,000 homes."
The new wind energy project is expected to be completed by 2014 and built at a cost understood to be about $400 million. Mr Purches said once the second stage was completed, the wind farm would save 700,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. He said local residents were "pretty enthusiastic" about the wind energy project.
Origin Energy will purchase 100 per cent of the power generated by the new development in its biggest wind purchase agreement. South Australia wind farms account for half the nation’s wind power.
Wind energy in Australia
1997: 4 MW
1998: 9 MW (+125 %)
1999: 9 MW (- %)
2000: 30 MW (+233.4 %)
2001: 71 MW (+136.7 %)
2002: 103 MW (+45.1 %)
2003: 197 MW (+91.3 %)
2004: 379 MW (+92.4 %)
2005: 579 MW (+52.8 %)
2006: 817 MW (+41.2 %)
2007: 817 MW (- %)
2008: 1,494 MW (+82.9 %)
2009: 1,712 MW (+14.6 %)
2010: 2,020 MW (+18 %)
2011: 2,224 MW (+10.1 %)
