Starfish Hill Wind Farm

Distributed generation, renewable
Location: Starfish Hill, SA

The site

The Starfish Hill Wind Farm is located near Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Eight turbines are located on Starfi sh Hill and 15 on Salt Creek Hill. The site was selected for its consistently strong winds, potential for low ecological impact as well as transport and grid accessibility. The Starfish Hill Wind Farm is South Australia's first wind farm.

Technology

The 1.5 MW turbines incorporate a rotor diameter of 64 m; three blades form a rotor swept area of 3217 m 2 operating on a 68 m tower. The rotor operates at 17.3 rpm between four and 25 m/s of wind speed. The blades incorporate hydraulic tip air brakes and the system includes hydraulic disc brakes. The asynchronous generator operates at a nominal voltage of 690 V and frequency of 50 Hz. Drive mechanism is five electrical planetary gears.

Electricity transmission

A new transmission network (transmission line and substation works) was required to connect the Starfish Hill Wind Farm to the ETSA Utilities owned electricity grid. ETSA Utilities built and will maintain and operate the transmission network under a contract of more than $10 million.

A 25 km long 66 kV, overhead transmission line connects the existing ETSA Utilities-owned substations from Yankalilla to Cape Jervis. The network capacity (line and substation) is four times that of the existing 33 kV line. A 33 kV underground cable of about 4.5 km connects the wind farm to the Cape Jervis substation.

Energy purchase and supply

The plant is expected to produce about 100 GWh of electricity per annum, which is to be sold to AGL under long-term agreement. The generator is registered with NEMMCO as a non-market, non-scheduled generator. The wind farm is also accredited under the Mandated Renewable Energy Target and the National Green Power program.

Starfish Hill provides enough energy to meet the needs of more than 18,000 households, representing 2 per cent of South Australia's residential customers, and it adds 1 per cent to the available generation capacity in South Australia.

Environmental impact

The project is expected to save 2.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the 25-year life of the wind farm. The project was designed for low ecological impact, visual amenity, low noise and tourism and economic benefits.

Success of the project to date

Community consultation included discussions with Yankalilla Council and landowners. Some significant project modifications were required to accommodate community input.

Also, local roads used to access the site were substantially upgraded for construction and access, which will remain public roads.