Future growth for wind power

South Eastern Times
17/08/2006 Page: 6

Wind is the fastest growing energy industry in the world as can be seen along the Woakwine Range overlooking Lake Bonney. The difference between wind and many other emissionfree energy sources is it is available and working now, both here and overseas, with proven, reliable technology.

Australia is blessed with some of the best and most reliable winds on Earth. The Federal Government can ensure it is ready to take advantage of this inexhaustible natural resource by providing incentives for investment in wind.

Despite misleading claims there are now 600 wind farms in Australia, the real figures are:

• Australia currently has 41 wind farms in operation, with more under construction.
• In total there are 505 wind turbines now operating with another 93 yet to begin.
• Including those under construction, that amounts to one turbine per 12,739 square kilometres.
• South Australia, which has 51 per cent of Australia's wind energy, has one turbine per 4553 square km.
• Renewable wind energy contributes significant amounts of green electricity,
• Australia's wind resources are already being harnessed to produce up to 730 megawatts of power.
• In an average year that creates 2262 gigawatthours of electricity enough to power 314,000 homes, or almost 80% of Adelaide's domestic consumption.

The green electricity helps Australia cut its greenhouse gas emissions because:

• 2262 GWh of pollution free wind energy means a saving of almost 3,000,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.
• That is the equivalent of taking 680,000 cars off our roads or planting 4.39 million trees.

The Australian wind energy industry does not exist because of taxpayer subsidies. An individual wind farm project may cost anywhere from $100m to $400m and the renewable energy company must carry the entire financial liability without government funding.

The only guarantee the wind energy sector receives is guaranteed access to a share of half a percent of the electricity market through the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) Scheme. This was created in part to level the disparity between high carbon emitting and low carbon emitting generation systems. The MRET is now fully subscribed.

Wind energy exists in a competitive market, along with various other sources of electricity. The price of electricity from fossil fuel does not include any charge for the cost of pollution it produces. If a carbon penalty was added the cost of wind energy would be easily competitive with so-called clean coal, nuclear, or any fuel source that relied on carbon geosequestration.

Wind power currently provides about 0.5% of Australia's electricity requirements, but this could easily rise as high as 20% without any negative effects on the distribution network. With an appropriate number of wind farms over a wide area this would provide consistent, reliable power to the grid.

Denmark gets 20% of its electricity from wind; Germany get 5%; and Europe is aiming to produce 12% of its total electricity consumption from wind by 2020. China has legislation for renewable resources, including wind, to provide three times as much electricity as nuclear power by 2020.

This year alone the USA plans to install 3000MW of wind power, four times Australia's total installed capacity. The wind industry in Australia currently has $1.7 billion in capital investment with the potential for billions more, if there were incentives to invest.

Already, every year, $2.5m. goes directly to landholders who host wind turbines on their land, while another $19m. is spent on operational and maintenance costs, much of it in regional areas. This investment has created hundreds of jobs and guaranteed income for many farmers who are still able to carry out normal farming activities on 98% of their land.

Hundreds more workers in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania are directly employed in the manufacture and export of components for wind turbines. These jobs are not subsidised or government funded.