Wattle Point Wind Farm is a wind farm near Edithburgh on the coast of South Australia, which has been operating since April 2005. When it was officially opened in June of that year it was Australia's largest wind farm at 91 megawatts. The installation consists of 55 wind turbines covering 17.5 square kilometres (6.8 sq mi)and was built at a cost of 180 million Australian dollars. It is connected to ETSA Utilities electricity transmission system via a 132 kilovolt line.
The location was chosen after identification as having one of mainland Australia's highest average wind speeds. The wind farm was officially opened by South Australian Premier Mike Rann and Southern Hydro Chairman, Dr Keith Turner. The opening was opposed by some of the local Indigenous Australians, the Adjahdura (or Narungga). A descendant of the traditional landowners argued that construction desecrated an ancient burial ground, disturbing skeletons in the construction of turbine number four. Work was halted in late 2004 after the discovery of human remains, artefacts and tools. The Aboriginal Affairs Department, and the developers, separately commissioned archaeological reports resulting in the development allowed to proceed with five towers being repositioned. Both reports concluded that the bones had come from elsewhere on the peninsula, being later reburied at Wattle Point. The region's aboriginal community was divided on construction; Narungga National Aboriginal Corporation supporting development and the Narungga Heritage Committee strongly opposing.
Wattle Point Wind Farm was built and owned by Southern Hydro Pty Limited. Southern Hydro was owned by Meridian Energy of New Zealand until October 2005, when it was bought by the Australian Gas Light Company (AGL). The windfarm was acquired by Alinta in October 2006, as part of an asset merger with AGL, and subsequently by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's Energy Infrastructure Trust, for 225 million dollars on 23 April 2007.
An extension, Wattle Point Stage 2, was proposed, but not built because of insufficient capacity in the electrical transmission lines.
Famous quotes containing the words point, wind and/or farm:
“From the point of view of literature Mr. Kipling is a genius who drops his aspirates. From the point of view of life, he is a reporter who knows vulgarity better than any one has ever known it.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“But not luck
brought us here. By design
clear air and cold wind polish
the river lights, by design
we are to live now in a new place.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“my Uncle Sol’s farm
failed because the chickens
ate the vegetables so
my Uncle Sol had a
chicken farm till the
skunks ate the chickens when”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)