WIND FARMS AT RISK

3 September 2009

ALEXANDRA WEAVER

TENSION between Powercor and wind farm developers is putting lucrative south-west energy projects at risk.

Local councils are worried up to 50 per cent of approved projects could be scrapped if the situation is not resolved, and have raised the issue in a combined submission to a parliamentary inquiry.

Some wind farm developers have argued they should not have to pay for electricity sub-stations at the base of their projects and then transfer the assets to Powercor.

Others, such as NewEn Australia, are frustrated by the time it has taken to establish power lines to wind farm sites.

NewEn managing director Ernst Weyhausen said an application to develop the Morton’s Lne wind farm near Woodhouse was lodged three years ago.

The project, which will involve between 13 and 15 turbines across Southern Grampians and Moyne shires, is expected to create up to 90 jobs during its construction.

Moyne Shire has also approved a permit for a second NewEn wind farm at Salt Creek, about 30 kilometres east of the Morton’s Lne site.

Two existing 66-kilovolt lines from Terang to Hamilton were unable to handle the extra power that would be supplied by new wind farms Mr Weyhausen said.

“We applied to Powercor for connection in September 2006, and we’ve been negotiating with them since. At the same time the Oakland Hills wind farm is negotiating for access to the same power line.

“The line is only sufficient for either Oakland Hills or Salt Creek and Morton’s Lne.”

Mr Weyhausen said it was accepted that Powercor would build a new line but it was not yet known who would meet the project’s $7 million cost.

“The problem is, within the rules of Powercor there is no queuing system. Even though we might have lodged an application well in advance of others, we may not necessarily be in front,” he said.

The shires of Southern Grampians, Glenelg, Moyne and Corangamite, along with the City of Warrnambool, made a submission to an inquiry into the approvals process for Victorian renewable energy projects.

In it, the councils expressed concern at existing arrangements and outlined other impacts of wind farm projects.

“Why is it that a proponent has to pay for and construct the connection – which can cost millions of dollars – and then hand it over to Powercor?” the submission said.

“It is difficult to discover how and what controls the maximum capacity of lines in the grid or the number of substations that are feasible … consequently, the main issue to be resolved with wind energy projects is connection to the power grid.”

Eleven wind farms have been approved for construction across the south-west, with a further 10 sites under consideration. Companies behind two other projects have applied to Moyne Shire for planning permits.

Powercor spokesman Damien Batey said wind farms posed a challenge for existing networks.

“It’s certainly not the case that we have any desire to hold up renewable energy developments,” he said.

“The far more important issue is ensuring these developments are handled responsibly and in a manner that reflects the available capacity for all customers.”

Mr Batey said Powercor would continue to seek co-operation from wind farm backers.

“We realise that our networks are quite severely constrained in terms of adding new large scale connections,” he said.

“Hence we appeared before the parliamentary inquiry to raise issues and additionally we have been liaising with the Australian Energy Market Commission, which is in the process of setting down rules and cost structures for wind farm developments.”