Emu Downs Wind Farm, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
The Emu Downs wind farm is a 79.2 MW wind farm
in Western Australia. It was a joint development between Stanwell Corporation
and Griffin Energy. The site is approximately 200 kilometres north of Perth, near Cervantes
. Construction of the $180 million project commenced in November 2005, and the project was commissioned in October 2006.
Emu Downs wind farm consists of 48 Vestas wind turbines (each with 1.65 MW generating capacity), a substation, interconnection to the main 132 kV electricity grid, administration and stores buildings, and a network of access roads. The wind farm is close to the coast, with a good quality wind resource that has increased wind speeds and reliability aligning with periods for peak power demand.
The wind farm provides electricity to run a desalination plant, 260 km (161.6 mi) to the south. The Kwinana Desalination Plant
, located just south of Perth, turns water from the Indian Ocean
into nearly 152 million litres (40 million gallons) of drinking water per day.
Emu Downs wind farm is accredited under the Australian Government's Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and as a Green Power Generator by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority.
In June 2011 the Queensland Government finalised the sale of all of its wind farm assets when it sold out of Emu Downs at a loss for $171 million.
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
in Western Australia. It was a joint development between Stanwell Corporation
Stanwell Corporation
Stanwell Corporation is an electricity generation company in Australia. It is fully owned by the Queensland Government, and has a portfolio of generating sites using thermal coal, wind, and hydroelectric power in Queensland....
and Griffin Energy. The site is approximately 200 kilometres north of Perth, near Cervantes
Cervantes, Western Australia
Cervantes is a town in Western Australia. The town is located just off Indian Ocean Drive about north north west of the state capital, Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Cervantes had a population of 503. The town was named after a ship that was wrecked...
. Construction of the $180 million project commenced in November 2005, and the project was commissioned in October 2006.
Emu Downs wind farm consists of 48 Vestas wind turbines (each with 1.65 MW generating capacity), a substation, interconnection to the main 132 kV electricity grid, administration and stores buildings, and a network of access roads. The wind farm is close to the coast, with a good quality wind resource that has increased wind speeds and reliability aligning with periods for peak power demand.
The wind farm provides electricity to run a desalination plant, 260 km (161.6 mi) to the south. The Kwinana Desalination Plant
Kwinana Desalination Plant
The Kwinana Desalination Plant, located south of Perth, Western Australia, turns seawater from Cockburn Sound into nearly 140 megalitres of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area....
, located just south of Perth, turns water from the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
into nearly 152 million litres (40 million gallons) of drinking water per day.
Emu Downs wind farm is accredited under the Australian Government's Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and as a Green Power Generator by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority.
In June 2011 the Queensland Government finalised the sale of all of its wind farm assets when it sold out of Emu Downs at a loss for $171 million.