Hepburn Wind Project
Encyclopedia
The Hepburn Wind Project is a wind farm
built and owned by Hepburn Wind, a community co-operative, and supported by the Victorian Government. The location of the project is Leonards Hill, 10 km south of Daylesford, Victoria
, north-west of Melbourne
, Victoria
. It comprises two individual 2.05 MW wind turbine
s supplied by REpower System AG
which are projected to produce enough energy for 2,300 households, almost as many houses are in the twin-towns of Daylesford
and Hepburn Springs.
The project is the first community-owned wind farm in Australia. The initiative emerged because the community felt that the state and federal governments were not doing enough to address climate change
. Hepburn Wind is the first project of the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, now known as SHARE.
Hepburn Wind Project formally launched their share offer on 25 July 2008, and as of June 2011 over 1700 members had subscribed a total of $9.0 million. The project has secured over $13.1 million in funding with the additional funds being bank debt and Government grants. Shares have been issued with priority to the local residents of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs.
As the project is under 30 MW, it was assessed under the local planning guidelines administered through the Hepburn Shire Council. The planning permit was issued by Hepburn Shire in February 2007. The council received 325 submissions in support of the proposal and 18 objections.
The permit was subsequently challenged unsuccessfully at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in June 2007.
On 28 April 2010 the project signed a contract with REpower Systems for the turnkey construction of the wind farm. The official ground breaking ceremony was held on 8 October 2010 and was officiated by the Hon Gavin Jennings, the Victorian Minister for the Environment at the time.
Construction began in November 2010. The turbines left Germany on 5 December 2010 on the SE Panthea and arrived in Melbourne on 22 February 2011.
A community picnic day was held to view and celebrate the erection of the first turbine on Saturday, 19 April 2011.
The wind farm began generating power into the local electricity network on Wednesday, 22 June 2011.
Community-owned wind farms are common in Denmark
and Germany
, which have high levels of wind power
use. Community wind projects are also emerging in Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom
and the United States
.
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
built and owned by Hepburn Wind, a community co-operative, and supported by the Victorian Government. The location of the project is Leonards Hill, 10 km south of Daylesford, Victoria
Daylesford, Victoria
Daylesford is a town located in the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. It is a former goldmining town about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. At the 2006 census, Daylesford had a population of 3,073...
, north-west of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. It comprises two individual 2.05 MW wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s supplied by REpower System AG
REpower
REpower is a German wind turbine company founded in 2001, purchased December 2009 by Suzlon Energy Ltd. Its product range comprises several types of turbines with rated outputs of between 1.5 and 6 megawatts. It created the 5M, in 2005....
which are projected to produce enough energy for 2,300 households, almost as many houses are in the twin-towns of Daylesford
Daylesford
The name Daylesford is borne by a number of settlements:*Daylesford, Victoria, Australia*Daylesford, Gloucestershire, England*Daylesford, Pennsylvania, United States**Daylesford , a commuter rail station...
and Hepburn Springs.
The project is the first community-owned wind farm in Australia. The initiative emerged because the community felt that the state and federal governments were not doing enough to address climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. Hepburn Wind is the first project of the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, now known as SHARE.
Hepburn Wind Project formally launched their share offer on 25 July 2008, and as of June 2011 over 1700 members had subscribed a total of $9.0 million. The project has secured over $13.1 million in funding with the additional funds being bank debt and Government grants. Shares have been issued with priority to the local residents of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs.
As the project is under 30 MW, it was assessed under the local planning guidelines administered through the Hepburn Shire Council. The planning permit was issued by Hepburn Shire in February 2007. The council received 325 submissions in support of the proposal and 18 objections.
The permit was subsequently challenged unsuccessfully at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in June 2007.
On 28 April 2010 the project signed a contract with REpower Systems for the turnkey construction of the wind farm. The official ground breaking ceremony was held on 8 October 2010 and was officiated by the Hon Gavin Jennings, the Victorian Minister for the Environment at the time.
Construction began in November 2010. The turbines left Germany on 5 December 2010 on the SE Panthea and arrived in Melbourne on 22 February 2011.
A community picnic day was held to view and celebrate the erection of the first turbine on Saturday, 19 April 2011.
The wind farm began generating power into the local electricity network on Wednesday, 22 June 2011.
Community-owned wind farms are common in Denmark
Wind power in Denmark
Wind power provided 18.9% of electricity production and 24.1% of generation capacity in Denmark in 2008, Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today almost half of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas and...
and Germany
Wind power in Germany
In 2010, the installed capacity of wind power in Germany was 27.2 GW. Wind power currently produces about seven percent of Germany’s total electrical power. More than 21,607 wind turbines are located in the German federal area and the country has plans to build more wind turbines...
, which have high levels of wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
use. Community wind projects are also emerging in Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom
Wind power in the United Kingdom
By mid-2011, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.7 gigawatts and the UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than...
and the United States
Wind power in the United States
As of the third quarter of 2011, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power in the United States was 43,461 megawatts , making it second in the world, behind China. In 2010 wind power accounted for 2.3% of the electricity generated in the United States...
.