Horizon Power :: Esperance Wind Farms

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Esperance is an isolated town on the south coast of Western Australia, located about 700 km south east of Perth. The town has a population of approximately 12,500. It is a popular tourist destination.

The focus on wind as a renewable energy source for Western Australia began in 1978. Measurements were taken of wind strengths all around the State to identify places suitable to install wind turbines. In 1987 this research work led to the first wind farm built in Australia, comprising six 60 kilowatt (kW) Australian made Westwind turbines, at Salmon Beach near Esperance.

The Salmon Beach wind farm commenced operation in 1987 and operated successfully for nearly 15 years. This wind farm was decommissioned in 2002 due to urban encroachment and the age of the machines. Four of the six turbines from Salmon Beach were sold to a Queensland company. The two remaining turbines were donated to the Esperance community. One remains on site as a monument for the town, and the other is on display near the Esperance Museum. The land has been transferred to the Shire of Esperance as a reserve for Conservation and Heritage.

The Ten Mile Lagoon Wind Farm, comprising nine 225 kW Vestas V27 wind turbines, was connected to the Esperance grid in 1993. This wind farm now operates in parallel with the 3.6 MW Esperance Nine Mile Beach Wind Farm consisting of six Enercon E40 600 kW turbines, commissioned by Diesel & Wind Systems (a wholly owned subsidiary of Verve Energy) in mid-2003.

The current power system comprises two wind farms (5.6 MW total capacity) which operate in parallel with the 30 MW Esperance gas-fired power station owned and operated by Esperance Power Station Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of WorleyParsons). The majority of the electricity on this system comes from these gas turbines.

The wind farm includes a control system based on a Master Controller, which talks directly with the gas turbine control system to manage the wind farm output. Due to the distance of the wind farms from the power station, the system incorporates sophisticated high reliability communications equipment using digital radio modems and fibre optic within the wind farms.

The wind farms generate about 22% of Esperance's electricity. Maximum instantaneous penetration is just over 65%.