Waubra Wind Farm, Victoria

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Waubra wind farm under construction, 5th April 2008

The Waubra Wind Farm is under construction and will consist of 128 wind turbines, with associated substations and an operations centre. Each wind turbine will generate 1.5 megawatts (MW), providing a total installed capacity of 192 MW. The wind farm is expected to be operational by early 2009. ^[1] On 16th of May 2008 the Ballarat Courier reported that 28 turbines were up.

The green energy generated by the wind farm each year will provide for 143,000 households – more than enough to power the nearby City of Ballarat. The Waubra Wind Farm is expected to offset up to 635,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year. This helps to meet future energy needs without further contributing to the cause of climate change.^[2]

Acciona Energy has formed a Community Reference Group (CRG) for the construction phase of the Waubra Wind Farm, to provide a regular forum for community input to the project and to facilitate communication between members of the Waubra community and the wind farm project team.^[3] A Community Relations officer has been appointed.

Acciona Energy is the largest developer, owner and operator of wind farms in the world. It has installed almost 5,300 MW of wind power capacity in 192 wind parks in 12 countries, of which 3,824 MW are owned by the company. ^[4]

The construction of the Waubra Wind Farm Project has been made possible by the Victorian State Government’s commitment to a Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET). The VRET provides regulatory stability for investments in clean energies by requiring that electricity retailers purchase a minimum 10 per cent renewable power by 2016. This scheme fosters the sale of energy produced from wind farms.^[5]