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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 turbines covering an extensive area. Wind farms can be either onshore or offshore.
Walkaway is a small town in the City of Greater Geraldton local government area of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Walkaway had a population of 270.
Northern Power Station was located at Port Paterson in the Australian state of South Australia about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of the city centre of Port Augusta. It was coal powered with two 260 MW steam turbines that generated a total of 520 MW of electricity. It was operated and maintained by Alinta Energy and was commissioned in 1985. Northern received coal by rail from the Leigh Creek Coal Mine, 280 km to the north. The plant ceased electricity production in May 2016 and decommissioned and demolished over the following few years.
Alinta wind farm is a wind power station at Walkaway, just south of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is owned by Infigen Energy and has offtake agreements with Alinta Energy and AGL Energy.
Wind power, a form of renewable energy harnessed through wind turbines, stands as a pivotal contributor to Australia's energy landscape. With a total installed wind capacity reaching approximately 9,100 megawatts (MW), as of October 2023, wind power constitutes a significant portion, representing 5% of Australia's total primary energy supply and a substantial 35% of its renewable energy supply. Australia's geographic disposition favors the proliferation of wind energy infrastructure, particularly in the southern regions of the nation and along the slopes of the Great Dividing Range in the east. Approximately half of Australia's wind farms are located near coastal regions.
AGL Energy Ltd is an Australian listed public company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. AGL is Australia's largest electricity generator, and the nation's largest carbon emitter. In 2022, 83% of its energy came from burning coal. It produces more emissions as a single company than the nations of New Zealand, Portugal or Sweden, according to its largest shareholder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, who named it "one of the most toxic companies on the planet".
Solar power is a major contributor to electricity supply in Australia. As of December 2023, Australia's over 3.69 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 34.2 GW photovoltaic (PV) solar power. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 12.4% of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2021.
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 accounted for 35% of Australia's installed wind power capacity. In 2021, there was an installed capacity of 2052.95 MW, which accounted for 42.1% of the electricity production in the state in 2020.
The Waubra wind farm is located on both sides of the Sunraysia Highway 35 km north-west of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Upon its completion in July 2009, it was the largest wind farm in Australia and was the largest wind farm by number of turbines and total capacity in the southern hemisphere.
As of April 2020, the energy sector in Senegal has an installed capacity of 1431 megawatts (MW). Energy is produced by private operators and sold to the Senelec energy corporation. According to a 2020 report by the International Energy Agency, Senegal had nearly 70% of the country connected to the national grid. Current government strategies for electrification include investments in off-grid solar and connection to the grid.
Coopers Gap Wind Farm is a 453 megawatt wind farm in the Western Downs and South Burnett regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located approximately 175 km north-west of the state capital Brisbane, and 50 kilometres south-west of Kingaroy and 65 kilometers 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 was completed.
As of May 2024, wind power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of 11,611 MW, 40.9% of which is based offshore. In 2022, the wind turbines provided the country with 18.37% of its electricity demand during the year. Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills.
Collgar Wind Farm is a wind farm located approximately 25 kilometres south-east of Merredin, Western Australia. It is operated by Collgar Renewables. With 111 Vestas V90-2.0MW wind turbines, and a total installed capacity of 222 MW registered with AEMO, it is Western Australia's largest wind farm. It became fully operational in October 2011 and is expected to generate 750 GWh per year on average over the 30-year life of the project.
Infigen Energy (Infigen), operating under this name since 29 April 2009, is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy generation assets in Australia. Infigen's wind farm portfolio has an installed capacity of 557 MW. Most of Infigen's assets generate electricity from renewable sources and are eligible to sell Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) under the mandatory Renewable Energy Target scheme, which operates in Australia under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. Since 2020, Infigen Energy has been a subsidiary of Iberdrola.
The electricity sector in Australia has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply. In 2021, Australia's electricity production reached 265 TWh, with coal accounting for 52.9% and natural gas for 18.8%. Renewable sources, comprising solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy with waste, collectively made up 26.7% of the total electricity generation mix.
Neoen is a French producer of exclusively renewable energy headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 2008, it develops, finances, builds and operates solar power plants, wind farms and energy storage solutions. As at 30 June 2023, the company's total capacity was 7 GW, made up of 47% solar, 34% wind and 19% battery storage. Neoen aims to attain 10 GW in operation or under construction by 2025.
The Murra Warra Wind Farm is one of Australia's largest wind farms. Located on the plains of north-western Victoria, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of the city of Horsham, it consists of 99 wind turbines with a maximum tip height of 220m.
Badgingarra Wind Farm is a wind farm in the locality of Hill River northwest of the town of Badgingarra in Western Australia, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Perth. It is owned by APA Group and located immediately north of the older Emu Downs Wind Farm which has the same owner.
References
- 1 2 "Western Australia's biggest wind farm officially opens". Government of Western Australia. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ↑ "Facilities". Australian Energy Market Operator.
- 1 2 "WA's biggest wind farm open for business". energymagazine.com.au. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ↑ "West Australia's largest wind farm, Yandin, goes online". constructionreviewonline.com.au. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ↑ Yandin Wind Farm Alinta Energy
- ↑ Construction set to begin on WA’s largest wind farm Infrastructure Magazine 5 March 2019
- ↑ AEMO Live data dashboard
