Windfarms no threat to birds

www.abc.net.au
Tuesday, 25 July 2006

If wind farms are a hazard for birds, Glen Leman is yet to see any of the casualties. Leman is the Owners Site Representative at the Lake Bonney Windfarm, and has been working around the turbines since the scheme began.

"I've never seen an orange-bellied parrot and I've never seen any dead ones," he says.

"I've never seen a dead bird. Every time you see a bird flying around the wind farm, it's always a bit lower than the blades or well and truly in between the two turbines that they might be flying between."

The orange-bellied parrot has already been used to halt one windfarm. And the bird could soon give windfarm developers between south Gippsland and the Murray Mouth headaches.

But Leman has different concerns. The normally quite hills surrounding Lake Bonney are a hive of activity at present with earth being moved, roads being carved and cables and concrete foundations being laid. It's all preparation for the South East's latest windfarm development – the second stage of the Lake Bonney windfarm that will see a further 53 wind turbines erected between now and 2008.

This civil engineering needs to ready by November. This is the arrival date of the project's first batch of turbines and the 600 ton crane that will set them up. (Erecting them can take two days, though strong winds can cause delays.)

It's only been two years since stage one was completed. But in that short time, the output capacity of the turbines has doubled. These new ones can power, at capacity, 1,600 homes each, When completed, the Lake Bonney project (which doesn't include the 23 turbines in the neighbouring Canunda windfarm) will be able to power up to 100,000 homes at capacity.

The improvements are thanks to a better gear box set-up and better computer controls (computers set the turbines in position to catch the optimum amount of wind).

And Leman believes we could see the output double again over the next two years. "I believe there's some development happening over in Europe to get up to 5 megawatt machines. So, yes, there's always that striving for bigger and better machines."

The extension of the Lake Bonney project is significant when you consider there are only 505 wind turbines in the country. It will confirm the South East as the green energy capital of the country. It could also be the most windfarm friendly place in the country, with some farmers even jesting to Leman that there is plenty more room on their property for some extra turbines (farmers are paid a considerable amount for the use of their land).

"In South Australia we have more of a positive outlook to the windfarms."

But the South East is still some way from being greenhouse-neutral (creating as much energy from renewable sources as total energy it consumes). These wind projects generally only operate at about 30 per cent of capacity over a year. Also, industry uses much more power than households.

But if those behind the Lake Bonney project can get the government – state or federal – to guarantee to buy more of the green power under the MRET scheme, turbines could soon extend all the way to Mount Benson.

Parrots depending, of course.