Wind Power in Australia - Overview

Overview

Australia has excellent wind resources by world standards. The southern coastline lies in the roaring forties and hundreds of sites have average wind speeds above 8 or even 9 m/s at 50 m above ground (the hub height of a modern wind generator). The southwest of Western Australia, southern South Australia, western Victoria, northern Tasmania and elevated areas of New South Wales and Queensland have good wind resources. Several states engaged in systematic wind speed monitoring in the 1980s and 1990s, the results of which are publicly available. Australian wind farms produce on average capacity factors of 30–35%, making wind an attractive option.

As of October 2010, wind power accounted for approximately 5 TWh out of a total of 251 TWh of electricity used per year, enough electricity to power more than 700,000 homes, and amounting to about two percent of Australia's total electricity consumption. This came from 52 operating wind farms with greater than 100 kW capacity, consisting of a total of 1,052 turbines. This figure represented approximately a 30% increase in wind power generation each year over the previous decade, or a total increase of more than 1,000% over that time. The total installed capacity at October 2010 was 1,880 MW (1.88 GW), counting only projects over 100 kW, with a further 1,043 MW under construction.