Winds of change going at full throttle

Australian
Thursday 8/11/2007 Page: 6

ALL puns aside, PR manager of Roaring 40s, Josh Bradshaw, says it's easy to be "blown away" by the sight of their wind farms. What's even more impressive than seeing their enormous turbines going full throttle is the speed at which the renewable energy company has grown. In just two years, Roaring 40s has opened 13 sites across Australia, New Zealand, China and India. It is now actively investigating several other potential markets throughout Asia.

An Australian Export Awards finalist, Roaring 40s is a result of a partnership between energy giants Hydro Tasmania and China Light and Power. Despite their rapid rise, Bradshaw says they still have a long way to go: "In Australia, wind energy accounts for less than two per cent of our energy use, where quite conceivable it could be 20 per cent without any issues with the network or availability. "wind energy works best in conjunction with other forms of energy like solar and geothermal. It has never been the case that wind will be the panacea." Its four Australian wind farm sites include Cathedral Rocks and Waterloo Wind Farm in South Australia, and Woolnorth and Musselroe in Tasmania. "We're blessed with some really wonderful wind resources, particularly in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania," Bradshaw says.

The energy produced at Woolnorth is enough to power 70,000 homes each year. Another site,
Shuangliao Wind Farm in China, produces enough clean energy to power up to 100,000 homes and saves around 110,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year. "In Asia and China there's strong government support and big targets for renewable energy," Bradshaw says.

Growing public awareness about climate change has fuelled a greater acceptance of alternative energy sources, according to Bradshaw: "We like to think we're changing the way people think about energy. We're challenging people to think about the energy they're using. "Recent polling by AC Nielson found two-thirds of Australians are happy to pay more for their electricity if they can guarantee it comes from a renewable energy source. "One of the best ways to go forward in the energy sector is in renewable energy." While currently focusing on wind energy, Roaring 40s also maintains an interest in developing sustainable hydro-powered electricity and monitors emerging clean energy technology such as geothermal power generation.

Prior to constructing wind farms, it conducts market and country analysis, site identification and pre-feasibility studies to determine the best sites. Part of the planning involves assessment on the environmental impact, such as the effects on waterways, vegetation, animals and birds. "The effects are examined on a case-by-case basis as every site is different," Bradshaw says. "There's very little impact in terms of actual site infrastructure. "To get the site back to its original state involves removing the turbines and it pretty much goes back to where it was before." Most areas they develop in Asia have access to the power infrastructure, but otherwise they build additional lines to transfer the energy to consumers.

Roaring 40s then operates and maintains the site for its full life-cycle which, in the case of wind energy, is a minimum of 20 years. Aside from the environmental benefits, wind farms also have benefits for the communities in which they are located. These include short to medium-term jobs during the construction and long-term positions during the farm's operation.

There are also flow-on benefits for other businesses in the community. "During construction there might be about 150 guys onsite for about 12 months, staying in the local accommodation and eating out - all these extra people there spending their money," Bradshaw says. Due to the impressive spectacle of wind farms, they also attract tourists to the area: "There's someone who brings bus loads of tourists to Woolnorth. It's a very beautiful sight when the turbines are going full-time."