Australia harnesses wind energy:

Australia has a small, flourishing wind power industry, which is involved in the research and development of small wind turbines, the development of small and large wind farms as well as sales and service.

Some of the main firms that are developing small wind turbines are: Westwind:
http://www.westwind.com.au
Powercorp:
http://www.pcorp.com.au
and WD Moore and Co:
http://www.wdmoore.com.au

Large wind turbines, greater than 60kW, are not manufactured in Australia. They are imported from Europe and the USA.

Wind power provides about 0.5 of a per cent of Australia’s electricity requirements. In July 2006, there were 41 wind farms and 505 wind turbines operating in Australia. The nation’s wind resources were producing up to 738MW of electricity. This totals 2,262GW of electricity in an average year – enough to power 314,000 homes and save almost 3,000,000 tonnes of CO2 in Australia. The CO2 savings is equivalent to taking 680,000 cars off our roads or planting 4.39 million trees.

For more information, go to:
http://www.auswind.org

In 2005/2006, renewable energy accounted for around 3.2 per cent of Western Australia’s electricity generation, nearly half of which was produced from wind power.

In Australia, a wind farm can displace between 65,000 and 115,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. A single wind turbine can generate clean energy for more than 20 years. Typically, each wind turbine can produce enough energy to meet the needs of up to 1,000 homes per year. The cost of wind energy has declined by three quarters since the 1970s and it is now one of the most cost-effective renewable energy technologies.

Australia’s large wind energy developers include Pacific Hydro, based in Melbourne, Victoria:
http://www.pacifichydro.com.au/
and Hydro Tasmania:
http://www.hydro.com.au/home

Other energy utilities with significant wind energy research and development programs include:

Verve Energy :
www.verveenergy.com.au
as well as the New South Wales companies Country Energy:
http://www.countryenergy.com.au
and Energy Australia:
http://www.energy.com.au/energy/ea.nsf/Content/Splash

In early 2005, Australia’s largest wind energy project, the Canunda Wind Farm, began operating at Lake Bonney near Millicent, South Australia.

For more information, go to:
http://www.power-technology.com/projects/canunda/

Australia’s innovative research skills and technical know-how was demonstrated in the Antarctic when we became the first nation to develop a significant electricity supply there, which was powered by the strongest winds on the planet. During the 2002 summer, a wind turbine system was installed at Australia’s Mawson Base in the Antarctic, which experience some of the world’s greatest wind speeds. Two wind turbines, which must deal with winds in excess of 300km/h, were provided and installed by the German company Enercon. The system’s technology was developed and installed by Powercorp Pty Ltd of Darwin. With an additional third turbine, it is expected that wind power will supply all of Mawson Base’s energy needs 75 per cent of the time.

For more information, go to:
http://www.pcorp.com.au

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