| Waubra Wind Farm | |
|---|---|
 Waubra Wind Farm in 2020 | |
 | |
| Country | Australia |
| Location | Waubra, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°20′53″S 143°36′01″E / 37.347917°S 143.600208°E |
| Status | Completed |
| Construction began | December 2007 |
| Commission date | July 2009 |
| Construction cost | A$450m |
| Owner(s) | Acciona Australia |
| Operator(s) | Acciona Australia |
| Wind farm | |
| Type | Onshore |
| Hub height | 80 metres (262 ft) |
| Rotor diameter | 77 metres (253 ft) |
| Site area | 173 square kilometres (17,300 ha) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 128 × 1.5 MW |
| Make and model | Acciona AW-77/1500 |
| Nameplate capacity | 192 MW |
| Capacity factor | 37.5% (projected) |
| Annual net output | 630 GWh (projected) |
| External links | |
| Website | www |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Waubra wind farm is located on both sides of the Sunraysia Highway 35 km north-west of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Upon its completion in July 2009, it was the largest wind farm in Australia and was the largest wind farm by number of turbines and total capacity in the southern hemisphere.[1]
Consisting of 128 wind turbines, with associated substations and an operations centre, each wind turbine has a capacity of 1.5 megawatts (MW). The total installed capacity is 192 MW.[1][2] The turbines have a tip height of 119 metres,[3] rotor diameter of 77 metres[3] and a hub height of 80 metres.[4] Annually the farm is projected to generate 630 GWh of energy over the life of the project,[3] for an annual capacity factor of 37.5%.
The green energy generated by the wind farm each year provides electricity for 138,000 households enough to power a city 3-4 times the size of Ballarat.[5]
Acciona Energy 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.[6] In 2010 the anti-wind farm lobby group the Waubra Foundation adopted the name of the nearby town.
The construction of the Waubra wind farm received financial assistance as part of the Victorian State government's Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET).[1]
In July 2011 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation 4 Corners program explored health concerns connected with Australian wind farms in its Against the Wind report. The Waubra wind farm and the community living around it was featured in the report.
A viewing platform designed by Melbourne-based firm JOH Architects[7] is accessible to tourists and located just off the Sunraysia Highway.
- ^ a b c "Waubra Wind Farm". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
- ^ "Waubra Wind Farm | ACCIONA | Business as usual". www.acciona.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Waubra Wind Farm Fact sheet" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ Bauer, Lucas. "Acciona AW-77/1500 - 1,50 MW - Wind turbine". en.wind-turbine-models.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Ballarat's Energy Use and Emissions - Stats & Facts. Breaze.org.au". Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to Waubra Wind Farm". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
- ^ "JOH Architects". Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.