Time for more turbines

Yorke Peninsula Country Times - Kadina
15/01/2008 Page: 1

The first of 42 wind turbines which are to atop the Barunga Ranges is now up and operating. At 3pm on December 23, the massive turbine began generating power into the South Australian grid via the newly constructed sub station at its base, which was completed on December 17.

Eighty metres from the ground to the hub-its two blades having a rotor diameter of 88 metres (one blade is larger than the wing of a jumbo jet)-it now stands as a landmark, visible for kilometres. It is also a boon to farmers who want to discern wind direction. The mighty blades always yaw into the wind, the Suzlon turbines - manufactured in India - being upwind machines. All the foundations for the remaining turbines will be completed this week, and cabling between numbers one and 10 is in place.

The site is a hive of activity with trucks, cranes and utes, and between 50 and 100 personnel working at various times. Towers and blades are likely to be spotted being transported and arriving on-site over the next four months, with the Suzlon turbines expected to be up and fully commissioned by October this year. The 42 turbines will have an 88 megawatt capacity generating enough power for 60,000 homes. They form Stage One of a wind farm that could eventually see 132 turbines dotted across the Hummocks and Barunga Ranges.