AGL Energy has big power generation plans in the wind

Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin
Saturday 14/6/2008 Page: 123

AGL Energy is investigating a stage five expansion to its Hallet wind farm in South Australia as the company aims to have almost half its power generated from renewables by 2020. Australia's largest power retailer yesterday officially opened its $236 million Hallet stage one wind farm, 220km north of Adelaide, the first of four planned for the area. AGL Energy is building its renewable power generation capacity before introduction of a national carbon trading system in 2010 and to help meet the federal government's target of having 20 per cent of the nation's power generated from renewable sources by 2020.

"We're looking potentially at a stage five at the Hallet wind farm, so there is potential for that," said AGL Energy managing director Michael Fraser. Hallet stage one has 45 wind turbines and will produce about 95 megawatts per year, enough to power about 54,000 homes. The second stage is in construction and two other additional stages under investment consideration. If all four projects proceed, AGL Energy could be operating more than 232 wind turbines and generating a combined capacity of more than 460 megawatts by 2011.

AGL Energy said just tinder a third of the company's current power generation was from renewable sources. It said it was aiming to increase that capacity to about 45 per cent by 2020. "I would expect, if we think out to 2020 where the government targets are, then probably we're going to end up somewhere in the order of 3000 to 4000 megawatts of renewable generation," said Mr Fraser.

"It would probably be tip in the 40 per cent plus range, 40 to 45 per cent of (total) generation capacity." AGL Energy said wind was the dominant technology in the renewable energy space, but the company was also looking at other options, including geothermal, wave technology and solar. The company provides gas and electricity to more than six million Australian customers.