Emu Downs Wind Farm
6:00 AM
Posted by Energetic
The Emu Downs wind farm is a 79.2 MW wind farm in Western Australia. It was a joint development between Stanwell Corporation and Griffin Energy. The site is approximately 200 kilometres north of Perth, near Cervantes. Construction of the $180 million project commenced in November 2005, and the project was commissioned in October 2006.
Emu Downs wind farm consists of 48 Vestas wind turbines (each with 1.65 MW generating capacity), a substation, interconnection to the main 132 kV electricity grid, administration and stores buildings, and a network of access roads. The wind farm is close to the coast, with a good quality wind resource that has increased wind speeds and reliability aligning with periods for peak power demand.
The wind farm provides electricity to run a desalination plant, 260 km (160 miles) to the south. The Kwinana Desalination Plant, located just south of Perth, turns water from the Indian Ocean into nearly 152 million litres (40 million gallons) of drinking water per day.
Emu Downs wind farm is accredited under the Australian Government's Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and as a Green Power Generator by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority.