Snowtown wind farm
Encyclopedia
The Snowtown wind farm
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...

is a located on the Barunga
Barunga Range
The Barunga Range is a range of hills starting near Clements Gap and Merriton in South Australia. Toward the range's southern end it merges with the Hummocks Range at Barunga Gap, approximately south west of Snowtown....

 and Hummocks
Hummocks Range
The Hummocks Range is a range of hills starting just north of the apex of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia near the settlements of South Hummocks and Kulpara...

 ranges west of Snowtown
Snowtown, South Australia
The town of Snowtown is located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km north of Adelaide and lies on the main route between Adelaide and Perth. The town's elevation is 103 metres and on average the town receives 389 mm of rainfall per annum.-History:...

 in the Mid North
Mid North
The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains, but not as far north as the Far North, or outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern part of the Flinders Ranges, and the northern...

 of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, around 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) north of the state capital, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. It is owned by TrustPower
TrustPower
TrustPower Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and electricity retailing company, listed on the New Zealand stock exchange.TrustPower is New Zealand's fifth largest electricity generator and the fourth largest electricity retailer , serving 260,000 customers throughout New Zealand...

.

History

The first power generated by the wind turbines was received into the public grid in December 2007. The first stage of the wind farm, constructed by Suzlon Energy
Suzlon Energy
Suzlon Energy is a global wind power company based in India. In terms of market share, the company is the fifth largest wind turbine manufacturer in Asia...

 Australia, was substantially completed by October 2008 and was officially opened on 2 November 2008.

It is expected that when all stages are completed the wind farm will consist of up to 150 turbine,s each having a rated 2.1 MW capacity.

Site

The location of the wind farm, the Barunga Range, is a north-south trending ridge of the Mount Lofty Ranges
Mount Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...

. Since it is generally treeless, rounded, and lies across the direction of the prevailing westerly winds, it provides an outstanding site for a wind farm.

See also

  • 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....

  • Wind power in South Australia
    Wind power in South Australia
    Wind power in South Australia is a significant energy source for the state and South Australia is well suited to wind farms due to its proximity to the Roaring forties....

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