Bearing failure on turbine no.2

South Gippsland Sentinel Times
Tuesday 17/7/2007 Page: 13

Wind Power Pty Ltd, the operators of Wonthaggi's controversial wind farm, last week brought in a large crane to its site south west of town ahead of starting repair work on turbine number two. The turbine has been out of action for quite some time following the failure of the main rotor bearing. General Manager of Wind Power, Vaughan Hulme, said the failure of the bearing was considered an unusual event by the manufacturer. "The type of bearing used is typical of those used in heavy mining machinery and not usually prone to failure. The manufacturer of the bearing considers it to be an unusual event and is replacing the bearing for us," Mr Hulme said. "The other turbines are continuing to operate very efficiently," he said.

The repair project will require Wind Power's contractors to remove the cone from the hub of the turbine rotor some 69 metres above the ground. A crane will then be used to take the rotor blades down so that the repair work can be completed. When the 42 metre blades are at their highest point in rotation, the height of the structures is about 110 metres. Work is expected to commence there on Tuesday this week, weather permitting.

Bald Hills progress
As for the company's 52 turbine, 104MW project at Bald Hills near Tarwin Lower, progress is being made. "There's not a lot to report at the moment except to say that we have approval to go ahead and we are working away at the project," Mr Hulme said. "We expect to have an announcement about Bald Hills in the coming months." According to details on the company's website, the plan is to develop all stages of the project at the one time to maximise economies of scale.

The turbines are to be located on two distinct areas of the Bald Hills site; the first an elevated site approximately 90 metres above sea level and approximately 10kms kilometres from the coast; the second located on the south end of the Bald Hills site approximately two kilometres from the coast. It is claimed that the project will provide construction work for 68 people, will cost in the order of $220 million to build and will supply enough power for 64,952 households.