Wind farms in New South Wales

As of June 2019 I will no longer attempt to keep information about individual wind farms and overall wind farm development up to date on these pages.

Wind in the Bush aims to be the most informative, comprehensive, and up-to-date pages on Australian wind power and wind farms. The author is not beholden to any company, lobby group, or government. *

Contents of this page...

Introduction | Wind farms by location | Wind farms by region | (Off this page: Locations on Google Maps) Operational NSW wind farms |

Specific wind farms...


Other proposed wind farms

Links | Index

Tables

Colour coding for wind farm status | Wind farms by region | Installed wind power, by wind farm | Other proposed wind farms

Graph

Generation by wind farm | Operational NSW wind farms

Maps

Bango | Ben Lomond | Birrema | Bodangora | Capital 2 | Collector | Crookwell 1, 2, 3 | Crudine Ridge | Glen Innes | Golspie | Goulburn area wind farms | Gunning | Paling Yards | Renewable energy precincts | Rye Park | Sapphire | Uungula | White Rock | Woodlawn | Yass Valley


Using this page: some hints

This and most other pages of 'Wind in the Bush' are set out like reference books. There is a contents list at the top of each page and at least one index at the bottom of the page. Use these to find the subject you want, or use CTRL F to find words or phrases that interest you. You can also Google search all of Ramblings. All the main pages of 'Wind in the Bush' are listed at the top left of the Wind Home page and many are listed on each of the states' pages.

This page created 2008/03/07, modified 2019/06/23
About these pages
Contact: David K. Clarke – ©
I would appreciate being informed of any errors on these pages; please give evidence.

Introduction

 
Actual average generation – by wind farm
Generation by NSW wind farms
Total 80.1MW
To end of 2012
This page is one of a group intended to provide unbiased and acurate information on Australian wind farms to anyone who may be interested.

 

Map of wind farm locations

As of June 2018 the NSW Department of Planning had a map showing the locations and development status of all the wind farms in the state.

While useful it totally lacks the interactive features of the map of Queensland's power stations.

Climate change is the greatest threat facing the world today; wind generated electricity is one of a number of ways that we can reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-generated electricity and therefore reduce our greenhouse gas production and limit climate change.

I will be pleased to hear from any reader who believes that anything in any of these pages is incorrect or substantially incomplete. Please send details, with appropriate references, to the email address above. Any suggestions on how these pages can be more informative will also be appreciated.

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Acknowledgements are listed on the WindPower page.

Note: Latitudes and Longitudes are given below in decimal degrees. They are given to two decimal places because this defines the location to ±1km; a wind farm is a large thing and typically covers a number of kilometres.

Note that the wind farms listed here as proposed or approved will not necessarily ever be built. You can't be sure that any wind farm is going to be built until it starts happening. Those that seem most likely to be built have been given detailed entries, those that seem more speculative have been listed in a summary table.




 
This section written 2011/04/26
Updated 2017/07/14

Wind farms by location

Below is a conceptual map of NSW. The numbers in each cell are the Latitude and Longitude, the main town in the area is shown in most cells. Placing the mouse over the highlighted bits will show which wind farms are in that area, clicking will allow you to get to the details of those wind farms. Similar sections are in the pages on SA, Victoria and WA.

A similar section is Wind farms by region.

28,149 28,150
Goondiw.
28,152
Lismore
29,141
Tibooburra
29,145
Lightning Ridge
29,148
Collaren.
29,149
Moree
29,150 29,151
Glen Innes
29,152
Grafton
30,141
Cobham
30,145
Bouke
30,148
Walgett
30,149
Narrabri
30,150
Boggabri
30,151
Armadale
30,152
Coffs Harb.
31,141
Broken Hill
31,145
Nyngan
31,148
Gilgandra
31,149
Coonabrn
31,150
Tamworth
31,151 31,152
Port Macquar.
32,141 32,145 32,148
Dubbo
32,149
Mudgee
32,150
Scone
32,151
Newcastle
33,141
Wentworth
33,145
West Wyalong
33,148
Cowra
33,149
Bathurst
33,150
Lithgow
33,151
Sydney
34,145
Narrandera
34,148
Yass
34,149
Goulburn
34,150
Wollong
35,145
Wagga
35,148
Gundagai
35,149
Canberra
35,150
Jervis B
36,148
Thredbo
36,149
Cooma
37,149
Eden



The status of the wind farms below was correct, so far as I know, in July 2017.

Lat 29, Long 151Glen Innes
Glen Innes, proposed; Sapphire, construction; White Rock, construction.

Lat 30, Long 151Armadale
Ben Lomond, proposed.

Lat 31, Long 141Broken Hill
Silverton, proposed.

Lat 31, Long 149Coonabarabran
Liverpool Range, proposed.

Lat 32, Long 149Mudgee
Bodangora, proposed; Uungula, proposed.

Lat 32, Long 150Scone
Kyoto Energy Park, proposed.

Lat 32, Long 151Newcastle
Kooragang, one small turbine, operating.

Lat 33, Long 149Bathurst
Black Springs, proposed; Blayney, operating; Crudine Ridge, proposed; Flyers Creek, proposed.

Lat 33, Long 150Lithgow
Hampton Park, two small turbines, operating.

Lat 34, Long 148Yass
Bango, proposed; Birrema, proposed; Rugby, proposed; Rye Park, proposed; Yass Valley, proposed.

Lat 34, Long 149Goulburn
Collector, proposed; Crookwell, operating; Crookwell 2, under construction; Crookwell 3, proposed; Cullerin Range, operating; Golspie, proposed; Gullen Range, operating; Gunning, operating; Paling Yards, proposed; Taralga, operating.

Lat 35, Long 148Gundagai
Adjungbilly, proposed.

Lat 35, Long 149Canberra
Capital, operating; Capital 2, proposed; Woodlawn, operating.

Lat 36, Long 148Thredbo
Snowy Plains, proposed.

Lat 36, Long 149Cooma
Boco Rock, operating.

Lat 37, Long 149Eden
Eden, proposed.

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Updated 2017/07/12


Wind farms by region

There is also Wind farms by location, elsewhere on this page.

RegionWind farm StatusMW
Bathurst BlayneyOperating 9.9
Hampton ParkOperating 1.3
Far west SilvertonApproved 200
Goulburn North TaralgaOperating 106.8
Northwest CrookwellOperating 4.8
Crookwell 2Under construction 92.0
Crookwell 3Proposed 45-116
Gullen RangeOperating 165.5
South CapitalOperating 140.7
WoodlawnOperating 42.0
SouthwestCollector Proposed160? 
West Cullerin Range Operating30.0
GunningOperating 46.5
Hunter Valley
Newcastle
KooragangOperating 0.6
Liverpool RangeProposed Up to 600   
New England SapphireConstruction 270.0
White RockConstruction 175.0
South East Boco RockOperating 113.0


Government Renewable energy precincts
Precincts map
Map credit: NSW Dept. Environment, Climate Change and Water


Windfarms in the Goulburn Area
Most are only proposed
Map
Acknowledgement: Epuron
Note that the status of some of these wind farms have changed since this map was produced.
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Updated 2017/07/12

Operational NSW wind farms


 
Operational NSW wind farms, MegaWatts
To July 2017
Wind Power in NSW
Installed wind power in NSW - by wind farm
Wind farmMWYear
Blayney9.9 2000
Boco Rock113.0 2014
Bungendore140.7 2009
Crookwell4.8 1998
Cullerin Range 30.02009
Gullen Range 165.52014
Gunning46.5 2011
Hampton Park1.3 2001
Kooragang0.6 1997
Taralga106.8 2015
Woodlawn42.0 2011
Total661.1
 





 
This section written 2011/04/24

Adjungbilly Wind Farm

CBD Energy PL submitted a Preliminary Environmental Assessment to the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure Department for this project in June 2010.

The wind farm is composed of three clusters of turbines. From the PEA:

"Adjungbilly Cluster is located approximately 26km east of the Gundagai and approximately 30km north-east of Tumut whereas the Stockdale Cluster is located approximately 22km north-east of Gundagai and approximately 17.5km south of Jugiong. The turbines of the Adjungbilly Cluster extend over a series of north-south facing ridgelines whereas the Stockdale Cluster extends across a single east-west ridgeline. All turbines are located on land ranging from approximately 481m to 799m Australian Height Datum (AHD)."
There seems to be no Net site dedicated to the wind farm as of 2011/04/24.

Summary data, Adjungbilly Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
ProposedMax. 261.5?App. 39 UndecidedApprox. S 35.09°E 148.41°
The coordinates above are those of the Adjungbilly Cluster


Additional data on Adjungbilly Wind Farm
Tower height68m
Hub height70m
Max blade tip height111m


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Edited 2017/12/12

Bango Wind Farm

 
Location
Bango location
Map credit Wind Prospect
Wind Prospect submitted a Preliminary Environmental Assessment to the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure Department for this project in March 2011.

It will be close to the towns of Boorowa and Rye Park, about 25km north of Yass and 80km north of Canberra.

There is a Net page by the proponents. In late 2017 it stated that a determination was hoped for from the state Planning Assessment Commission in early 2018 on whether development approval should be given.

Summary data, Bango Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Costruction dateLat.Long.
Proposed122Approx. 3Approx. 400 UnknownApprox. S 34.63°E 148.83°

Eco Business quoted Wind Prospect Senior Development Manager Adrian Maddocks as saying that the number of turbines was reduced from around 200 to 100 on 2012/08/07.

Additional data on Bango Wind Farm
DeveloperWind Prospect
Project cost$500m to $600m
Tower (hub) height70 to 100m
Rotor diameter80 to 120m


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Ben Lomond Wind Farm

Also known as Guyla?
Allco, the company behind this proposed wind farm, failed in November 2008. A company spokesman had stated that Allco would lodge the development application within a couple of days of 27th Feb. 2008. The town of Ben Lomond is about 33km south of Glen Innes in the New England district of NSW. There is a map showing the location of this wind farm in the section on White Rock Wind Farm.

If the farm is ever built the turbines will run along several ridges from Ben Lomond.

Summary data, Ben Lomond Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed982.4150 to 200 UndecidedApprox. S 30.03°E 151.66°


Additional data on Ben Lomond Wind Farm
Owner/operatorAllco
Project costAus$300 million
The turbines
Tower typeTubular steel
Width of base4.5m
Hub height80m
Total height (to blade tip)128m
Rotor diameterUp to 95m


Some of this information came from an informative page at Wind-Watch news, posted December 19th 2007. Other information came from Allco's pages on this wind farm.
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This section added 2017/02/05
Updated 2017/07/14

Biala Wind Farm

Newtricity, the proposer of this wind farm, have a Web site on the project, it includes several maps showing the project boundary and turbine layout. It is to be about 8 km east of Biala and 15 km south-west of Crookwell.

The project was approved by NSW Planning and Environment Dept. 2017/04/12.

It is proposed that 31 turbines will be built on four private farming properties. Maximum blade-tip height will be 185m.

A sketchy proposal was first announced several years ago.

Summary data, Biala Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed31?? UndecidedS 34.59°E 149.35°
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Updated 2012/01/29

Birrema Wind Farm

Location of Birrema and Carroll's Ridge wind farms
Location map
Map credit Epuron

Epuron submitted a Preliminary Environmental Assessment to the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure Department for this project in July 2010. Newsletters are available from the Epuron Net site. Epuron's Net site gives the status of this wind farm as "Development commenced".

From the PEA, "The proposed Birrema Wind Farm is to be located on the boundary of the Southern Tablelands and South Western Slopes regions of NSW, 30km west of Yass, and approximately 300km SW of Sydney. The site is in the vicinity of a number of proposed wind farms".

Summary data, Birrema Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed60 to 801.5 to 3.390 to 264 UndecidedApprox. S 34.88°E 148.56°


Additional data on Birrema Wind Farm
Project costNot stated
Tower heightUp to 105m
Maximum total height150m
CO2 abatement510 000 tonnes estimated
Power generated536 000MWh per year estimated


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Updated 2010/04/10

Black Springs Wind Farm


This wind farm near Oberon, and about 50km south of Bathurst, has been proposed by Wind Corporation (Level 42, AAP Centre, 259 George St., Sydney). NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor has approved the project, with conditions. Energreen Wind Pty., Ltd. (57 Carlotta Street, Greenwich, NSW 2065) also has some part in the project.

I was unable to find a Net page for either company, nor for the project; AEMO does not mention this wind farm on its list of proposed generators.

Summary data on Black Springs Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Approved92.1?19? UnknownApprox. S 33.87°E 149.73°

ABC Central West NSW OnLine reported 2009/03/27 that the falling water level in the Oberon reservoir could cause the fast-tracking of construction of this wind farm. (The wind farm does not need water from the dam, apparently the alternative is a fossil-fuelled power station that does need cooling water.) Mark Fogarty, director of Wind Corporation, is reported as having said that "he is hopefull construction can start early next year" (2010).

It was reported that the project will generate 32 jobs at the construction stage.

Further data on Black Springs Wind Farm
Project costAu$32.6m
Greenhouse gas savingEstimated at 44 thousand tonnes CO2 p.a.
Home
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Blayney Wind Farm
Also known as Carcoar Wind Farm

Located near Bathurst, this wind farm is owned by Eraring Energy.


Blayney Wind Farm
A beautiful photo of part of Blayney Wind Farm by Dave Bassett; his Flickr name, tassie303.

Summary data
Status# TurbinesManufacturerModelMW eachTotal MW CommissionedLat.Long.
Operating15VestasV470.669.9 Oct. 2000S 33.62°E 149.20°
The year 2000 date is when the wind farm was opened by the NSW Minister for Energy.

Additional data, Blayney Wind Farm
Owner/operatorEraring Energy
Project cost$18 million
Greenhouse gas savingEstimated at 8000 tonnes CO2 p.a.
Tower footingsReinforced concrete about 10m x 10m, grassed over
Tower heightApprox. 43m
Rotor diameterGreater than 47m
Rotation rate28 revolutions per minute
Minimum operational wind speed4m/sec (15km/hr)
Minimum wind speed for full output16m/sec (55km/hr)
Shut down wind speed25m/sec (90km/hr)


Several Net pages have a very limited amount of data on Blayney wind farm http://www.bathurst-nsw.com/BlayWindFm.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blayney_Wind_Farm,_New_South_Wales. Somewhat more can be found at http://www.eraring-energy.com.au/.
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Edited 2016/12/02

Boco Rock Wind Farm

 
Boco Rock Wind Farm under construction
Boco Rock WF
Photo credit Paul McIver; photo on Flickr
Construction of the wind farm was completed on 2014/12/15.

An open day was held on 2014/11/29 and it was reported that more than 1000 people attended.

This farm was constructed by Wind Prospect.

This farm was approved by NSW Minister of Planning Tony Kelly on 2010/08/09 (Announced in the Cooma-Monaro Express) and by the Federal Government on 2010/09/30.

I have some more photos of Boco Rock WF on another page.

Boco Rock Wind Farm early works 2013/08/11
Site works Boco Rock
Image credit Mike Hudson

The Boco Rock WF Net site gave the construction starting date as 2013/07/29.

Summary data, Boco Rock Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWCompletion date LatLong
Operating6758 × 1.7 MW
9 × 1.6 MW
1132014/12/15 Approx. S 36.73°E 149.26°

The developers, CWP Renewables, have approval to expand to 120 turbines.



 
Updated 2018/08/23

Bodangora Wind Farm

 
Location
Location map
Map credit Infigen
 

News 2018/08/23

Renew Economy reported that the first three turbines had begun exporting power to the grid.
Infigen submitted a Preliminary Environmental Assessment to the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure Department for this project in October 2010.

It being constructed about 20km north-east of Wellington and around 40km south-east of Dubbo at the closest point.

It is spread over at least five properties on land at elevations of between 400m and 740m.

Infigen has a Net site and a Facebook page about the project.

NSW Health representative Professor Wayne Smith, Director Environmental Health Branch and Dr Jeremy McAnulty, Director Health Protection NSW were consulted by the Planning Assessment Commission on 2013/08/22. "NSW Health was very clear in its advice, which is consistent with that of the National Heath and Medical Research Council – that there is no published scientific evidence to link wind turbines with adverse health effects."

The Commission noted that noise levels predicted at any non-associated dwelling were expected to not exceed 30 dB(A) and that infrasound was not expected to be perceptible at any dwelling.

The Commission noted that there would be a modest Community fund – 2% of the revenue of one turbine.

Summary data, Bodangora Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Expected completionLat.Long.
Under construction333.4113 Second half of 2018S 32.46°E 149.05°


Additional data on Bodangora Wind Farm
Tower height80 to 100m
Blade tip heightMaximum 150m
Footing typeRock anchor probable
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Edited 2013/12/13

Capital Wind Farm

Also called Bungendore and Capital Hill Wind Farm

Once owned by Babcock and Brown, this farm now belongs to Infigen Energy who have a Net page on the farm, which was constructed by Suzlon.

The wind farm is mostly between Tarago and Lake George, and about 50km SSW of Goulburn; the location is shown on the Goulburn area map. My information, of which I cannot be sure, is that they will be in three groups: at Groses Hill east of Lake George (about Lat. S 35.06°, Long. E 149.51°) in the Hammonds Hill-Ellendon area (about Lat. S 35.17°, Long. E 149.50°), and a few in the Boro area, SSW of Tarago (about Lat. S 35.19°, Long. E 149.63°). There is a map on this page, in the section on the adjacent Woodlawn Wind Farm.

An interactive map showing its location and giving directions on how to get there is available on ExplorOz.

In May 2008 the NSW Government announced that power from this wind farm would be used to run the proposed Kurnell (Sydney) desalination plant. Infigen managing director Miles George said the desalination plant would use 40MW of electricity when it began operating this summer, and that any left over power generated by the wind farm would go into the national electricity grid.

The NSW Planning Dept. posted in December 2013 that this wind farm complies with state noise standards.

Bungendore Wind Farm
Some of the Bungendore turbines in the middle distance, Woodlawn turbines in the far distance. Lake George is in the foreground

Summary data on Capital Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesManufacturerModelMW each Total MWCapacity factorCommissionedLat.Long.
Operating67SuzlonS882.1140.726% November 2009Approx. S 35.15°E 149.54°
The capacity factor was calculated from AEMO data for August 2009 to December 2012 data (inclusive) downloaded via the Australian Landscape Guardians '.csv' format download facility.

 
Generation record
Up to mid 2012

Generation record for Capital/Bungendore

The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Capital Wind Farm as recorded by AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) and downloaded via the ALG (Australian Landscape Guardians) Net site. The units are average megawatts generated month by month.

Further data on Bungendore Wind Farm
The project
Owner/operatorInfigen Energy
Project costAus$220 million
Estimated generation400GWh per year
Length of underground cabling45km
The resource
Average wind speedMore than 7m/sec. at hub height
The Turbines
TypeSuzlon S88
Expected life25 years
Tower height80m
Rotor diameter88m
Blade lengthApprox. 43m
Height to tip of blade124m
Blade materialFibreglass
 


Much of the data in the table on the left came from Miles George of Infigen.

Opinion surveys

Infigen commissioned QDos Research to conduct a survey into the perceptions of Capital Wind Farm held by the local people. The results were released in May 2012. Infigen calculated the approximate population of the area surveyed – Bungendore and Tarago – to be 3300. Of these 200 householders and 34 businesses were interviewed by telephone.

The survey report is available from Infigen's Net site.

The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure did a survey of people living within four kilometres of Bungendore, Cullerin Range and Woodlawn wind farms.

I have written a little more about these surveys on another page.
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Updated 2017/08/04

Capital 2 Wind Farm

 
Location
Location map
Map from Infigen's PEA
Infigen's Net site

Update 2017/08/04; Infigen Pty Ltd have received a 1 Year extension to their planning application.

The following information was extracted from the original Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA). The land to be used is about 700 hectares and belongs to five landowners. The majority of the land has been cleared, but a small number of isolated patches of native vegetation remain. "Construction of the turbines and roads will not require any tree clearing".

If built, this project will use the same connection point to the power grid as Bungendore and Woodlawn.

From the PEA:

"The surrounding area is undulating with some steeper slopes around incised valleys. Capital II Wind Farm is bordered by Western Leg Road to the east and Lake George to the west. At approximately 2500 people, the Bungendore township is the closest significant population centre to the site, and the city of Canberra is located approximately 40km to the south-west."

Summary data, Capital 2 Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Approved413.5144? UnknownS 35.12°E 149.47°
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Updated 2012/10/04

Carroll's Ridge Wind Farm

Also see Yass Valley Wind Farm.

Location of Birrema and Carroll's Ridge wind farms
Location map
Map credit Epuron

Epuron have proposed this wind farm, but few details were given.

Summary data, Carroll's Ridge Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed34Likely 2 to 3.6 68 to 122?UnknownS 34.91°E 148.69°
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Updated 2019/05/31

Collector Wind Farm
Sometimes called Lerida Wind Farm

 

Fully financed

Sophie Vorrath posted in Renew Economy 2019/05/30 that financial closure had been achieved due to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation investment of $180 million into the $360 million project.
This project was owned by Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund, but all their wind power assets were taken over by Ratch Australia Corporation. Ratch produced a newsletter (number 4), which included a detailed map showing intended turbine locations, in July 2012.

On 2013/12/03 the NSW Planning Assessment Commission approved this project, although with the deletion of eight turbines. Reducing the number from 63 to 55.

 
Map
Map credit Transfield
It is proposed that the farm will be just south of the Cullerin Range Wind Farm, 30km SW of Goulburn and it is expected to cost around $400 million. Transfield said that the site was chosen for the reasons below:

  • It has an excellent wind resource;
  • There are few residences in close proximity to the site;
  • The site is traversed by the electricity grid, limiting the length of transmission line required;
  • Preliminary environmental studies indicate a low impact on the environment; and
  • Community support for renewable energy developments in the region.

Wind data has been collected over several years from two wind monitoring towers.

Summary data, Collector Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWConstruction date LatLong
Approved55?3.4?227late 2019?S 34.86°E 149.40°
The number and size of turbines above is from Ratch's Newsletter # 4
The total MW is from a posting of Renew Economy

Further data on Collector Wind Farm
Tower height90m max.
Blade length60m max.
Construction periodAbout 2 years
Expected power generation550 GWh per year

Community funding

Ratch have promised $200 000 per year to the local community for this wind farm. This equates $3175 per turbine per year.

2013 Collector Pumpkin Festival

It seems that Transfield/Ratch sponsored this festival, which is the premier annual event at Collector. Apparently Angus Taylor, the local Liberal candidate and wind power opponent, attacked the wind farm proponents and the sponsorship. He was eventually made to back-down and the festival was a great success.
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This section written 2018/01/09

Coppabella Wind Farm

Originally to be a part of Yass Valley Wind Farm this now seems to belong to Goldwind as a separate entity.

Goldwind has a net site about the project. They state:

"Coppabella Wind Farm will extend 12 kilometres west to east and 10 kilometres north to south along the Coppabella Hills near the towns of Bookham and Binalong."

Summary data, Coppabella Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
ProposedUp to 79?? UndecidedApprox. S 34.75°E 148.63°




Crookwell Wind Farm

The wind farm is about 10km south of Crookwell and 175km SE of Sydney; the location is shown on the Goulburn area map. See also Crookwell 2 and Crookwell 3 wind farms. There is a map showing the locations of all three stages of the Crookwell projects in Crookwell 3 WF.

The wind farm operators are apparently Great Southern Energy, Pacific Power and Eraring Energy (full URL "http://www.eraring-energy.com.au/Default.aspx?aCateId=796" for Eraring's wind farms). Argyle County has a page on the wind farm, from which much of this information came.

Summary data for Crookwell
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW CommissionedLat.Long.
Operating80.64.8 July 1998S 34.52°E 149.54°


Further data on Crookwell
Owner/operatorEraring
Tower height45m
Tower weight36t
Turbine typeVestas V44-600kW
Turbine diameter44m
Blade materialFibreglass
Start-up wind speed4.2m/sec (15km/hr)
Shut-down wind speed20m/sec (72km/hr)
Rotation rate28 revolutions per minute
Greenhouse gas savingEstimated at 8000 tonnes CO2 p.a.
Crookwell
Crookwell Wind Farm
Source www.argylecounty.com.au
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Updated 2018/11/21

Crookwell 2 Wind Farm

Union Fenosa/GPG Naturgy Group has a Web page about the project. On 2018/11/21 it was reporting the the wind farm was "scheduled to commence operation in the second half of 2018."

The wind farm will be adjacent Crookwell Wind Farm, about 14km SE of Crookwell, about 30km NW of Goulburn and 175km SE of Sydney and in the shire of Upper Lachlan; the location is shown on the Goulburn area map. (There is a map showing the locations of all three stages of the Crookwell projects in Crookwell 3 WF.) The site has a long history of agricultural use, and is now largely used for grazing of sheep and cattle.

The size of the proposed development has been greatly reduced over several years, at one point about 46 turbines were proposed. It is expected that the turbines will be spread along several of ridge-lines.

Crookwell 2 Wind Farm
Crookwell 2 B
Gullen Range Wind Farm in the distance

Crookwell 2 A
Credit for both photos: Mike Hudson

The wind farm is contracted to the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) government under its 100% renewable energy by 2020 target. For more information see Resources and Energy, NSW.

The wind farm is being constructed by Union Fenosa Wind Australia (UFWA). The Crookell Gazette stated on 2012/07/10 that "construction of the works associated with the wind farm [will continue] from late July". The construction work to be done was roadbuilding.

Managing Director of UFWA sited "major disruptions to energy policy in Australia" as the reason for the delay in construction. He said that the uncertainty in the industry has "put a brake on all forms of investment in electrical generation in Australia". UFWA has recently announced the formation of a Community Consultative Committee.

Crookwell 2 summary data
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Completion dateLat.Long.
Construction283.2591Late 2018?S 34.53°E 149.56°

Further data on Crookwell 2
Owner/operatorUnion Fenosa Wind Australia
Expected generationUp to 100GWh per year

Community funding

UFWA have promised a Community Enhancement Fund of $70 000 per year for this wind farm for the expected 25-year life of the project. This equates $2500 per turbine per year. For more information see Resources and Energy, NSW.
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Updated 2014/02/21

Crookwell 3 Wind Farm


 
Crookwell map
Location of the Crookwell Wind Farms
Acknowledgement Union Fenosa

Update 2014/02/21, pers. com. Thomas Mitchell, Legal Manager, Union Fenosa

"In the week commencing 10 February our consultants SMEC started geotechnical investigations and surveys at the Crookwell 3 wind farm sites off the Woodhouselee Rd, and off the Goulburn-Crookwell Rd near Pejar Dam."

This is to map the foundation conditions for the turbines.

Union Fenosa has a pdf newsletter on this project. If built it will be on two parcels of land, south and east of Crookwell 2 Wind Farm; the new bits are referred to as Crookwell 3 East and Crookwell 3 South. (Also see the Goulburn area-map.) The pdf newsletter (released in March 2010, link above) states that approval is currently being applied for.

ABC Online News also carried an article on the proposal, May 24, 2010.

Email inquiries can go to info@unionfenosa.com.au.

A community consultative committee has been established in relation to this and Crookwell 2 WF.

Summary data, Crookwell 3 Wind Farm
Status#TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction beginningLat.Long.
ProposedUp to 30Up to 3.4Up to 102 UnknownApprox. S 34.57°E 150.05°
The coordinates are those of Crookwell 3 East

Additional data on Crookwell 3 Wind Farm
Hub height105m maximum
Rotor diameter152m maximum
Tip height152m maximum
Expected generationBetween 146 and 209GWh per year
Project cost$90-$100 million
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Updated 2018/10/09

Crudine Ridge Wind Farm

 
Location
Crudine Ridge location
Map credit Wind Prospect
Construction started on this wind farm in May 2018.
 

September 2018

It has been reported that many more trees have been felled than were reported as needing to be removed for site access in the environment impact statement. This could be related to the turbine blades being longer than first expected.

This project was allowed to languish for several years, but was approved by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission on May 10, 2016, and Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Energy on April 4, 2017. There is a net page by the developer, CWP Renewables.

Update 2018/06/05

Renewables Now carried an article 2018/05/30 reporting that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation had announced that it would provide $38 million in debt financing for this project.

Information from 2013 or earlier

Wind Prospect submitted a Preliminary Environmental Assessment to the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure Department for this project in February 2011.

The project "is located approximately 45km south of Mudgee and 45km north of Bathurst. The turbines extend over a 16 km span along the Crudine Ridge, south west from Aarons Pass Rd. The individual turbine positions are located on land with elevations ranging from approximately 890m to 1 000m Australian Height Datum (AHD)."

106 turbines were proposed.

Summary data, Crudine Ridge Wind Farm
Updated 2018/05/29
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWConstruction startedCompletion expectedLat.Long.
Under construction373.63134.3May 2018September 2019Approx. S 33.00°E 149.72°
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Edited 2018/04/25

Cullerin Range Wind Farm


Cullerin turbine blade
Turbine blade arriving at the Cullerin Range Wind Farm
Photo credit Origin

This wind farm 30km west of Goulburn and 14km east of Gunning on the Cullerin Range; the location is shown on the Goulburn area map.

Approval was given by the state Planning Minister in late February 2007 and preliminary construction works commenced at the end of January 2008 around the time that Origin Energy acquired the development rights from Epuron.

It was reported in June 2016 that this wind farm was sold by Origin to Duet subsidiary Energy Developments.

Summary data, Cullerin Range Wind Farm
Status#TurbinesManufacturerModelMW eachTotal MW CommissionedCapacity factorLat.Long.
Operating15REpower8×MM82
7×MM92
230 Late May to
early July 2009
40%Approx. S 34.81° E 149.40°
The capacity factor was calculated from AEMO data up to the end of
December 2012 and among the best I have calculated for any Australian wind farm.

Cullerin under construction
Cullerin Range Wind Farm under construction
Photo credit Origin

 
Generation record
Data up to end 2012

The NSW Planning Dept. posted in December 2013 that this wind farm complies with state noise standards.

Generation record for Cullerin Range

The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Cullerin Range Wind Farm as recorded by AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) and downloaded via the ALG (Australian Landscape Guardians) Net site. The units are average megawatts generated month by month.

Community funding

Origin provided $20 000 in 2013/14 to the local community for this wind farm. This equates $1333 per turbine per year. (Earlier they had promised $25 000/year.) They have said that they will provide only $15 000 for the 2014-15 year ($1000 per turbine).

 
Additional data on Cullerin Range Wind Farm
Owner/operatorOrigin
Project costAus$50 million
Turbine brandRepower
Tower height80m
Blade lengthup to 46m
Nacelle and generator weight72 tonnes
Hub weight17 tonnes
Footing380 cubic metres in size and containting
650 tonnes of concrete and 40 tonnes of reinforcing steel
Greenhouse abatement95 000 tonnes CO2/yr expected
AltitudeAround 700m

Some of the information on the table came from Wind Energy News and other from the Goulburn Post (2009/03/13).

Lights turned off

The Croockwell Gazette published an article stating that the aviation lighting on the wind farm towers were switched off on November 1st, 2010.

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Updated 2012/11/23

Eden Wind Farm

 

Rejected

ABC on-line News reported on 2012/11/21 that the project had been rejected by The Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel.
Epuron have proposed this project on the NSW south coast, on a peninsula approximately five kilometres SE of the township of Eden.

A development application has been lodged with the Bega Council. Epuron have given the following contacts for inquiries:

  • Martin Poole, Director; 0411 159 114
  • Daniel Gilbert, Project Manager 0411 758 225

Summary data, Eden Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Development application lodgedUp to 7?? UndecidedApprox. S 37.11°E 149.94°

Several documents about the project are available from Epuron's Net page. Newsletter No. 1 has a map showing the location of the project. Epuron have announced a Community fund for the project.



 
Edited 2017/02/05

Flyers Creek Wind Farm

 
On 2013/11/28 the Blayney Chronicle announced that this project has received the support of the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure. It was later (March 2014) approved by the Planning Assessment Commission.
Flyers Creek Wind Farm Pty Ltd (100% owned by Infigen Energy) propose that this wind farm will be built about 20km South of Orange and about 200km West of Sydney. The turbines will be located in pastoral country along ridges about two kilometres to the south-east of the Cadia mine site boundary.

Summary data, Flyers Creek Wind Farm
Status#TurbinesMW eachTotal MW ConstructionLat.Long.
ProposedUp to 442 to 3.5?120 UnknownApprox. S 33.48°E 149.10°


A preliminary environmental assesment was published on the Net in December 2008 by Flyers Creek Wind Farm Pty Ltd; some of the information above was taken from that document.

Infigen Energy was trying to include one community owned turbine in this wind farm.
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Glen Innes Wind Farm

 

News 2017/07/19

Nixif Energy's net page stated that "The company kicked off early works at the Glen Innes site in early January 2017"
The wind farm was first proposed by Infigen Energy and was approved by the NSW government in November 2009. If built it will be in the New England area: the northern NSW highlands.

As of July 2017 Nexif Energy Australia has a Net site on the project.

On 2013/05/09 Clean Technica reported that Denham Capital Management had invested in several Australian wind farms, including this one. On 2013/05/23 Sustainable Business reported that OneWind Australia had the rights to the project and that it would come online in 2015.

There is a map showing the location of this wind farm in the section on White Rock Wind Farm.

Summary data, Glen Innes Wind Farm
Status#TurbinesMW eachTotal MW ConstructionLat.Long.
Approved253.690 ?S 29.76°E 151.64°
The figures for number of turbines and total MW above are from a net page of Nexif


Additional data on Wind Farm
Project costAus$150 million
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Updated 2013/07/01

Golspie Wind Farm

 
Location map
Golspie location map
Map credit Wind Prospect
A more detailed map is available from Wind Prospect CWP's Net site.
Wind Prospect's page (2013/07/01) included a note stating that "The planning application with the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure has been allowed to lapse."

If built, the turbines will be on the higher altitude ridges around the township of Golspie, to the northeast of Crookwell and about 50km north of Goulburn.

A newsletter (No. 1) was released for February/March 2012 in late February. It included a fairly detailed map of the wind farm boundaries.

Email contact: Development Manager, Daniel.macdonald@wpcwp.com.au

Summary data, Golspie Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Commissioning dateLat.Long.
ProposedUp to 1001.5 to 4.5250 2014/15 intendedS 34.28°E 149.63°


Additional data on Golspie Wind Farm
(These figures may well be obsolete)
Project costNot stated
Tower (hub) heightUp to 120m
Rotor diameterUp to 136m
Max. blade tip height188m
Carbon dioxide abatement740 000 tonnes p.a. expected
Annual generation876 000 MWh expected
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This section written 2017/08/14

Granite Hills Wind Farm

This wind farm is proposed 12km SE of Nimmitabel, in the Steeple Flat region of Brown Mountain. There is a net page.

Bega District News carried an article 2017/08/09. "The project is a joint venture between an Australian company Willy Willy and French company Akuo Energy." In early August 2017 community members were being invited to be a part of a consultation group. There has been concern about bird kills; the proponents pointed out in the article that blade-tip height will be 200m and the lowest height swept by the blades will be at 70m and that most birds don't fly as high as 70m. They also reported that the project managers were calling for expressions of interest in a community consultative committee.

Summary data, Granite Hills Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateCompletion expectedLat.Long.
Proposed353.45120.8 Second quarter 2018Late 2019Approx. S 36.57°E 149.37°




 
Updated 2018/02/03

Gullen Range Wind Farm

At the time of completion this was the biggest wind farm in NSW, but it is smaller than others in WA, SA and Victoria.

Epuron was originally involved in this proposal, but seem to have sold their interest to Goldwind Australia. Goldwind announced first power to the grid in mid December 2013.

 
Gullen Range Wind Farm 2013/07/13
Gullen Range Wind Farm
Image credit Mike Hudson
Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. announced the start of construction at Gullen Range Wind Farm on or about 2012/11/28. At the same time it was announced that 17 towers were to be manufactured locally.

REVE (2012/07/08) said that this would be the first wind farm in Australia to host Goldwind's 2.5MW Permanent Magnet Direct Drive wind turbines.

ABC online news reported (2007/11/14) that this windfarm was to be built on 14 properties along a ridge-line between Goulburn and Crookwell; the properties are at Kialla, Bannister, Pomeroy and Gurrundah. The location is shown on the Goulburn area map.

The Crookwell Gazette (2011/02/23) ran an article anouncing an agreement Epuron made with Goldwind Australia for the latter to supply the turbines for the project (it seems they will be made in China). Goldwind was founded in 1998 and established in Sydney in 2009.

ReNew reported that the final foundation was poured on 2013/09/26 and that the switchyard was completed.


Solar farm co-located with the wind farm

RenewEconomy ran an article by Giles Parkinson on 2017/10/05 reporting that the solar farm co-located with the Gullen Range Wind Farm has started feeding power into the grid. The 10 MW solar farm was officially opened on 2018/02/01.

Summary data, Gullen Range Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWCompletion LatLong
Operating56
17
2.5
1.5
165.5 2014/12/23Approx. S 34.57°E 149.59°

Additional data, Gullen Range Wind Farm
Expected CO2 abatement511 000 tonnes/year
Project cost$250 million
Construction jobs150
Longer term jobs15

Community funding

The Crookwell Gazette, 2010/09/07, carried the following: "Under the terms of consent for the Gullen wind farm and its 84 turbines, the developers will be required to pay $139 944 a year into a community enhancement fund." This is $1666 per turbine per year and is more than most wind farmers put into their communities.
 
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Edited 2013/06/16

Gunning Wind Farm
Also known as Walwa Wind Farm

Gunning WF is sometimes called Walwa WF because it is built on a pastoral property of that name.

 
Turbine 
construction
Assembling the first turbine at Gunning Wind Farm
Photo credit Acciona
Acciona has a Web site about the wind farm. It extends from a point about 20km WNW of Goulburn to about 35km NW of Goulburn. It is about 20km NE of Gunning and 10km NE of the Cullerin Range wind farm; both are on the Cullerin Range. The general location of the Gunning Wind Farm is shown on the Goulburn area map and more precisely below.

The first tower erection took place on 28 Oct. 2010; the first nacelle lift occurred on 8 November.

Acciona's contacts for the project are: Bruce Payne – Construction Manager, Phil Munari – Project Manager, Louise Kingma – Community Relations Coordinator; Free call: 1800 283 550. Email can go to "gunning@acciona.com.au".

The turbines used on this project are built by Acciona, and unlike some other turbines (for example, the Vesta turbines used at SA's Waterloo), rotate at a constant speed. The Gunning turbines have a gearbox to increase the rotation speed of the generator, unlike the Enercon turbines at SA's Mount Millar Wind Farm. Electricity at Gunning is generated at 12kV, stepped up to 132kV at a substation on the wind farm, then transmitted on a new line about 12km to the Yass-Goulburn transmission line.

Another informative page I found on the Net was one by Capire, who had been retained by Acciona for community relations work.

Summary data, Gunning/Walwa Wind Farm
Status#TurbinesManufacturerModelMW eachTotal MW Capacity factorConstruction completedLat.Long.
Operating31AccionaAW 15001.546.5 39%May 2011Approx. S 34.68°E 149.36°
Gunning's capacity factor was calculated from data spanning the period April 2011 to December 2012 inclusive and is among the highest for any wind farm in Australia.

 
Gunning map
Location of Gunning Wind Farm
Image credit Acciona
Click on the image for a higher resolution map

Additional data on Gunning/Walwa Wind Farm
Tower height76m
Tower base diameter4.5m
Tower top diameter2.5m
Blade lengthUp to 40m
TurbinesAcciona
Concrete footing dimensions14m×14m×1.5m thick
Nacelle dimensions8m long, 4m high, 50 tonnes weight
Expected CO2 abatementApp. 135 000 tonnes annually

Community funding

Acciona are providing $1000 per turbine per year (indexed to the CPI), a total of $31 000 per annum. This is more generous than some, less so than others.

The Crookwell Gazette publised a piece on a proposed 'community enhancement fund' on 2012/08/02. Both Upper Lachlan and Goulburn Mulwaree councils will have representatives on the proposed committee.

Generation record for Gunning

 
Generation record
Gunning generation record
Data up to end 2012
The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Gunning Wind Farm as recorded by AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) and downloaded via the ALG (Australian Landscape Guardians) Net site. The units are average megawatts generated month by month.
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Hampton Park Wind Farm

Hampton Wind Park is a two hour drive from Sydney, just off the Jenolan Caves road in the Blue Mountains. It was financed by Wind Corporation Australia and supplies electricity to Integral Energy's green power customers.

Summary data on Hampton Park Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW CommissionedLat.Long.
Operating20.661.32 Sept. 2001S 33.65°E 150.05°

Additional data on Hampton Park Wind Farm
Tower height50m
Rotor diameter47m
RotationFixed rate, 28.4 revolutions per minute
Start-up wind speed4m/sec, 14km/hr
Full power wind speed13-16m/sec, 46-58km/hr
Shut-down wind speed25m/sec, 90km/hr
Capital costAus$2.5 million

The information above is from several sources including the NSW Dept. Energy, Utilities and Sustainability and Research Institute for Sustainable Energy, (RISE).

I have been unable to find an Internet page devoted to this wind farm. Wikipedia (on its page 'List of wind farms in NSW') indicates that this farm is owned by Wind Corporation.
 
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Edited 2018/02/28

Jupiter Wind Farm
Sometimes called Tarago Wind Farm

 
Map of proposed location
Jupiter Wind Farm location
Map credit EPYC
 

Update 2018/02/28

Sophie Vorrath reported on RenewEconomy 2018/02/28 that the project has again been rejected by the state government’s Department of Planning and Environment as “fundamentally unsuitable” to the site and surrounds – despite being downsized to 54 turbines.

"It will now go to the Planning Assessment Commission for the final determination, but the department has recommended approval of the project should be refused."

This proposal by EPYC is intended to be 14km E of Lake George, 5km southeast of Tarago and 50km ENE of Canberra.

From the EPYC net page 2018/01/10, the proposed number of turbines has been reduced from 100 to 88 and then to 54; the area concerned has gone from 12,000ha down to 5000 and then to 4135ha. If the 54 turbines are to be 3.5MW each the total installed capacity will be 189MW.

EPYC released their first Community Newsletter in February 2014. The project area "is approximately 12 000 ha extending along Braidwood-Goulburn Road and past the Kings Highway". "The majority of the proposed development will be on the Eastern side of the Goulburn-Braidwood Road."

Summary data, Jupiter Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed543.5189? UndecidedApprox. S 35.18°E 149.66°

On 2015/11/01 RenewEconomy reported:

"A planning application for a 350MW wind farm in the NSW Southern Tablelands has been rejected by the state's Department of Planning and Environment, after it was ruled the project's developers had failed to adequately assess the visual and noise impacts of the turbines, or to properly consult with local residents."



 
Updated 2014/07/03

Kooragang Wind Farm

 
Kooragang turbine
Kooragang turbine
This excellent image kindly provided by Tyler Hamilton.
See more of Tyler's photos on Flickr
 

News, 2014/07/03

"After 17 years of operation, the iconic Kooragang Island wind turbine will be dismantled and removed after Ausgrid was unable to find an appropriate buyer for the site."
Newcastle Herald
Kooragang 'Wind Farm' consists of a single turbine on Kooragang Island near Newcastle.

This information is from several sources including the NSW Dept. Energy, Utilities and Sustainability.

In March 2011 there is discussion on the possibility of a need to move the turbine because of the building of Waratah Coal Services' proposed fourth coal loader.

Summary data on Kooragang
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW CommissionedLat.Long.
Operating10.60.6 1997S 32.88°E 151.75°
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Updated 2015/02/08

Kyoto Energy Park Wind Farm

Proposed by Pamada to be built near Scone in the upper Hunter Valley. There is a Net page on the project. The Net page stated that, as of 2015/01/20, works were underway. This entry mainly concerns the wind farm part of the project.

Summary data, Kyoto Energy Park Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWConstruction date LatLong
Approved343102Undecided Approx. S 32.01°E 150.78°

The turbines are to be in two areas, Mountain Station is about latitude S 32.07° and longitude E 150.74° (31 turbines, and Middlebrook Station is about latitude S 31.95° and longitude E 150.78° (3 turbines).

This is a particularly interesting and unusual project because beyond the wind turbines it is to include from 3 to 10MW of solar (photovoltaic) collectors and a closed-loop mini hydro-electric plant. Pamada hopes that the project will have a total generating capacity of 137MW.

ABC On-line news reported on 2010/02/10 that the NSW Planning Minister had approved the project.



 
Updated 2019/03/10

Liverpool Range Wind Farm

 

News 2019/03/07

Tilt Renewables announced that it had completed the acquisition of the project from Epuron. They have a Web page on the project.
Epuron have proposed this wind farm between Cassilis and Coolah in the Upper Hunter Renewable Energy Precinct. Coolah is about 74km south-east of Coonabarabran; the wind farm will be about 470 km north of Sydney.

It was announced in early April 2018 that the NSW government had given approval for the wind farm to proceed. In July 2018 it was reported that the project had secured environmental approval from the federal government.

"Using the elevated ridges that run north-south in the general area of Coolah," Epuron project manager, Simon Davey said. "We believe that the wind speeds and the data indicates that there is a very good and strong, consistent wind resource in the area that we are quite excited about."

Summary data, Liverpool Range Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
ApprovedUp to 2673.75?Up to 1000 Not yet announcedApprox. S 31.83°E 149.72°
The coordinates above are those of Coolah

Community funding

The program will provide funds for community projects and initiatives in the area and will be administered by an independent community group. The fund will consist of $3,000 per turbine per annum. This is more generous than most.
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Updated 2017/07/20

New England Wind


 

Comment 2017/07/20

I have been informed by private email that a suitable site for the wind farm has not yet been settled.
This is a proposed community owned wind farm. There is a net page on the proposal.

The net page states that the wind farm is "a project which aims to establish the first community-owned wind farm in NSW. A community-owned wind farm based on the New England Tablelands will have significant benefits for residents, businesses and organisations in this region."

Summary data on New England Wind
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed3 to 6?? ?S ?°E ?°
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This section added 2018/09/27

Hills of Gold Wind Farm

Alternatively known as Nundle Wind Farm

This wind farm is proposed by Wind Energy Partners who have a Web page about the wind farm.

It is proposed that the wind farm will "stretch along 20 kilometres of Ridgeline from Hanging Rock to Crawney, south east of Nundle." (Northern Daily Leader, 2018/03/06.) It will be about 50 kilometres south-east of Tamworth and 260 kilometres north of Sydney. "There is also the potential for the project to include a solar farm, located on Lindsays Gap Rd, near Old Wallabadah Rd, towards the New England Hwy." (Northern Daily Leader, 2018/03/08.)

Summary data, Hills of Gold Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWConstruction date
Proposed984?Up to 400Undecided

Additional data on Hills of Gold Wind Farm
Owner/operatorWind Energy Partners/Hills of Gold Energy
Project costAus$600 million
Total turbine height (to blade tip)Up to 220m




 
Updated 2014/06/03

Paling Yards Wind Farm


 
Location
Location map
Map credit Tract Consultants and Union Fenosa
 

Update 2014/06/03

A media release mentioned a public exhibition day (2014/05/27) and stated that the project had been modified substantially in response to public consultation. It gave an email address for inquiries: info@unionfenosa.com.au
Paling Yards Wind Farm was proposed by TME Australia P.L. and Gamesa Energy Australia P.L. Later Union Fenosa Wind Australia took over all the TME wind farm portfolio.

The turbines will be built on both sides of the Goulburn to Oberon Road, 45km south of Oberon, 30km north of Taralga, and 70km north of Goulburn.

In October 2012 Union Fenosa was seeking nominations for a community consultative committee for this project; see their Net site.

ABC Online news, May 24, 2010 carried the following: "A development application for the $275 million wind farm at Paling Yards has been lodged with the Department of Planning".

Some of the information in this section came from UFWA's newsletter of May 2011. That newsletter included a larger scale map of the outline of the proposed wind farm.

Thomas Mitchell of Union Fenosa said (2013/02/08) that following the expected acceptance of the planning documentation the "documents will then form our Environmental Impact Assessment, and the Paling Yards project will then commence a period of public exhibition. When the public exhibition period has ended we will have an opportunity to respond to any issues that are raised. The Department will prepare their assessment of our Environmental Impact Assessment reports, and we anticipate that they will provide a positive recommendation to the Planning Assessment Commission. The Paling Yards site is a remote site in a sparsely-settled location, with good wind."

Summary data on Paling Yards
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Development application lodged553.25178 UnknownS 34.15°E 149.81°


Further data on Paling Yards Wind Farm
Greenhouse gas abatementEstimated at 320 000t of CO2
TubinesGamesa Eolica 2MW
Tower height78m
Blade length45m
Total height123m
Tower diameter at baseAbout 4m
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Updated 2012/08/21

Rugby Wind Farm


 
REpower and Suzlon have combined operations in Australia and New Zealand and are operating as REpower Australia.
Windlab and REpower Australia are jointly seeking approval to construct and operate a wind farm at Rugby in the South Eastern Highlands of NSW. They have submitted a preliminary environmental assesment (Oct. 2010) and have conducted a Community Information Session at the Rugby Hall (Dec. 7th 2010). It is classed as a major project and a Major Project Application has been submitted.

The Project Area is located near between Rugby and Boorowa and is approximately 40km north of Yass and 220km south-west of Sydney. Preliminary investigations have indicated that about 20 dwellings are located in the vicinity of the proposed turbine locations.

The topography of the Project area is characterised by a series of rolling hills forming a number of gentle ridgelines suitable for turbine placement. A large proportion of the Project Area, especially along the ridges, is covered with native vegetation, mostly dry sclerophyll forest.

Summary data on Rugby Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Proposed52Max. 3.4Up to 176 ?S 34.41°E 148.88°
Number of turbines proposed reduced from 'up to 90'
ABC online news 2012/05/02 announced the reduced number of turbines.

Further data on Rugby Wind Farm
Capital investment valueAus$390m
Average wind speeds25-30km/hr
Height to tip of bladeUp to 160m

Much of the information in this section was extracted from the Preliminary Environmental Assessment application.
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Updated 2017/05/30

Rye Park Wind Farm

 
Location map
Location map
Map credit Epuron
 

News, 2017/05/26

Gavin Coote, ABC Central West, wrote an article announcing that the wind farm had received approval. The number of proposed turbines was decreased from 109 to 92.
Epuron applied for planning approval for this $300m wind farm before the end of February, 2011. It is intended that it be built SE of Boorowa, about 25km NNE of Yass and about 240km WSW of Sydney. Boorowa is the town where 'Boorowa Council' is shown on the map on the right.

The project is now in the hands of Tilt Renewables. Rye Park Wind Farm contact details are:
Phone: 1800 839 661
email: ryeparkwindfarm@tiltrenewables.com
Postal Address: PO Box 16080 Collins Street West Melbourne Vic. 8007

Tilt Renewables have a development projects net page which seems to give no information about Rye Park Wind Farm. However, a much more informative fact sheet is available.

Epuron has a Net page on the project (which was still operating in late May 2017, but whether Epuron still has an interest in the project I don't know).

Summary data on Rye Park Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
ApprovedUp to 92?Up to 276 Late 2018 at the earliestS 34.88°E 148.91°
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Updated 2019/01/29

Sapphire Wind Farm

There is a Net page on this project which apparently was first proposed by Wind Prospect then taken over by CWP Renewables.

The wind farm will border the Glen Innes to Inverel road on the north, from about 15km to 30km west of Glen Innes. There is a map showing the location of this wind farm in the section on White Rock Wind Farm.

It seems that 100MW of installed capacity has been contracted to supply power to the ACT.

The project is using Vestas turbines.

Summary data, Sapphire Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction startedCompletedLat.Long.
Operating753.6270 January 2017December 2018S 29.71°E 151.50°


Additional data on Sapphire Wind Farm
Owner/operatorWind Prospect
Project costAus$925 000 to $1 250 000
Maximum height of blade tip200m
Rotor diameter140m
Predicted output828GWhr per year
Carbon dioxide abated695 000 per year
Estimated capacity factor35%


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Updated 2018/05/15

Silverton Wind Farm

 
Location of wind farm
Location map
Image source, ABC online news
The farm is being built near Silverton, about 25km NW of Broken Hill.

 

News

On 2018/05/15 RenewEconomy reported that the first turbines at Silverton had started feeding power into the grid.
Wind Farm Development had some involvement in this farm, then Epuron became involved; more recently AGL have taken over the rights to the proposal.

The project received approval from the NSW state government in early June 2009. This was announced by Premier Nathan Rees in Parliament about 3rd June.

The city of Broken Hill is, in many ways, by default a part of South Australia even though it is geographically in New South Wales. The fact is that it is much closer to Adelaide than to Sydney (420km and 940km respectively, as the crow flies). It's radio and TV programs come from South Australia, and it is closer to the population centres of South Australia than to those of NSW (300km from Jamestown, SA; 670km from Dubbo, NSW). The ores from its famous mines have always been railed to South Australia for smelting and/or shipping. So the Broken Hill Wind Farm is of especial interest to me, a South Australian.

Summary data, Silverton Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWConstruction date Completion expectedLatLong
Construction583.43200 May 2017Mid 2018S 31.78°E 141.25°
There were originally to be a total of 172 turbines and a total installed capacity of 570MW.

On the information available to me when I first wrote this section, Silverton seemed an odd choice of site; the Wind Resource Map of Australia and the NSW wind resource map both indicate that Broken Hill is not particularly windy; both show it as less windy than most of the highlands along the eastern coast and the Australia map shows the area as much less windy than many areas of WA, SA, and southern Victoria. Also there is not a big local market for the power, Broken Hill has a population of around 20 000 and not a huge amount of industry; it could not possibly use all the power from such a big wind farm and there are no high capacity transmission lines near the city.

These apparent difficulties were largely explained by Andrew Durren of Epuron/Taurus Energy on 2009/01/05 who stated:

  • Mesoscale wind resource maps are unreliable and the wind resource at Silverton is better than indicated on the Wind Resource Map of Australia;
  • An initial powerline will connect the farm with Broken Hill (approximately 25km) and a second powerline will suppliment this by connecting to [a high capacity transmission line in] Red Cliffs in Victoria (approximately 300km).
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Snowy Plains Wind Farm

Also called Berridale Wind Farm

Proposed by Epuron; since sold to Origin.

This project was approved by the local council several years ago, but Origin has decided to not go ahead with it. Lucy Morrell wrote an article on the cancellation of the wind farm in the Jindabyne Summit Sun newspaper on 2010/12/02. Origin representatives said that wind measurements were too low and that "the wind farm did not meet the company's requirements on a number of fronts".

Summary data on Snowy Plains Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Approved162?Maximum of 30 UndecidedS 36.19°E 148.58°

Further data on Snowy Plains Wind Farm
Greenhouse gas abatement81 000 tonnes/year expected
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Updated 2015/08/15

Taralga Wind Farm

The project Net site states that construction began in August 2013.

 
Taralga in the snow
Tarago in the snow
Photo credit Will Stone and Taralga Wind Farm
Proposed by RES Southern Cross, the project was approved by NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor and his decision was later upheld by the NSW Land and Environment Court (Feb. 2007). CBD Energy together with its partners China Datang Renewable Power and Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric acquired this project from RES in September 2011. Goulburn Post reported that this project was sold to Banco Santander and CBD Energy Ltd around October 2012.

The location, on ridges east of Taralga, is shown on the Goulburn area map. RES state that the closest turbine to the township of Taralga will be more than 3km away, while most will be 5km or more.

International Business Times announced that Taralga was the first joint venture between CBD Energy Ltd and China Datang Corp (2011/04/18).

Reneweconomy reported that TRUenergy had signed a power purchase agreement with CBD Energy in regard to Taralga Wind Farm in September 2012.

Summary data on Taralga Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Completion dateLat.Long.
Operating511.8 to 3107 July or August 2015?Approx. S 34.41°E 149.82°

Breakdown of turbines
# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW of this class
212.042.0
211.837.8
93.027.0

Further data on Taralga Wind Farm
Project costAus$250 million
Expected generation300 GWh/year

Taralga in the snow
Tarago in the snow
Photo credit Will Stone and Taralga Wind Farm

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Updated 2013/05/02

Uungula Wind Farm

 
Location
Uungula location map
Map credit Wind Prospect
Wind Prospect submitted a Preliminary Environmental Assessment to the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure Department for this project in March 2011.

 

Newsletter

Newsletter #3 was made available on 2013/05/01. The newsletter contains a detailed map of the proposed turbine lay-out.
The wind farm will be about 15km west of Wellington and 70km ESE of Dubbo. It will be spread over quite a large area between Wellington and Gulgong.

Wind Prospect has a Net site on this project.

The information on this project has come from several sources.

Summary data, Uungula Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW ConstructionLat.Long.
Prelim. Envionmental Asses. lodgedUp to 2491.5 or more About 370Not decidedApprox. S 32.51°E 149.29°


Additional data on Uungula Wind Farm
Project costNot stated
Tower (hub) height70 to 100m
Rotor diameter80 to 120m
Expected generation1320GWh/year


Thanks to Daniel MacDonald of Wind Prospect for an update on this project (2013/03/12).
"When first announced in March 2011 the project consisted of approximately 330 wind turbines and ancillary structures spread over 29 different properties. Since being announced, the project has been revised to take into account findings from key assessments and consultation with interested stakeholders. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of wind turbines. The project now comprises a wind farm with one layout consisting of around 250 wind turbine locations, together with ancillary structures spread over 35 different properties."

"The Preliminary Environmental Assessment was submitted to the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in March 2011 and is available to view at www.planning.nsw.gov.au (following the links to Development – Major Project Register). Over the next few months the focus is concluding the environmental assessments and presenting a project for approval to the department."
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This section written 2018/11/16

Walcha Energy Project

 
PV Magazine carried more about the project on the same day.
Giles Parkinson wrote about this project in Renew Economy on 2018/11/15. It is expected to include a wind farm, solar farm and energy storage, possibly including a battery and pumped hydro energy storage. The project is intended to be built in several stages, with a wind component being in the first stage.

The project is proposed by Energy Estate and MirusWind for the Walcha/Uralla area, about 30 km south of Armadale and 230 km north of Newcastle. At the time of writing I was unable to find anything specific on the Internet about the project from either MirusWind or Energy Estate.

Some years earlier it was reported that the Walcha community was looking into the feasibility of making Walcha a zero net energy town.

Summary data, Walcha Energy Project
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MWBatteryConstruction dateFirst output expected
Proposed??4,000?MW, ?MWh20202022
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Updated 2018/04/24

White Rock Wind Farm

 
Location map
White Rock location
Map credit Epuron
Construction of this wind farm, about 20km SW of Glen Innes and 40km ESE of Inverell, began in May 2016.

Goldwind, who took over the project from Epuron, has a Net site on White Rock Wind Farm. Epuron announced that they were working to establish a community consultation committee.

Epuron state in their Planning Aplication that:

"[The site] has been selected for its windy ridges and cleared grazing land. The majority of land in the region is currently used for commercial agriculture (sheep and cattle grazing) and has been cleared and grazed over many decades.
The ridges most likely to contain turbines are generally clear on the tops with varying density of vegetation across the lower slopes."

Epuron's Planning Application, dated September 2010, stated that there would be 80 to 100 turbines. This has been changed to 119 turbines as specified in a pdf file forwarded to the Dept. of Planning on 2011/05/11.

Summary data, White Rock Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction beganCompletionLat.Long.
Stage 1 operating702.5175 May 2016Early 2018S 29.81°E 151.58°
119 turbines have been approved; 70 are in the first stage
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Map
Location of Woodlawn and Capital wind farms
Acknowledgement: Inifigen Energy
 
Edited 2013/12/13

Woodlawn Wind Farm

This Infigen farm is adjacent to their older Bungendore Wind Farm. The link to the electricity network is to be via the existing 330/33kV sub-station at the Bungendore Wind Farm.

Infigen has a downloadable pdf document.

Infigen's page, on 2011/12/07, stated "The Woodlawn Wind Farm achieved practical completion on 17 October 2011. Suzlon Energy is the turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider on the project." On the same page it was stated that a Construction Compliance Report was available for downloading.

An inaugural run through the wind farm was held in November 2012. It attracted 450 participants. See the article in the Canberra Times. Infigen should be commended for holding this event which gives many people an opportunity to get up close to wind turbines. Hopefully this will be the first of many. Also see Tourism and wind farms.

The NSW Planning Dept. posted in December 2013 that this wind farm complies with state noise standards.

Summary data on Woodlawn Wind Farm
Status# TurbinesManufacturerModelMW each Total MWCapacity factorCompletedLat.Long.
Operating23SuzlonS882.148.333% 2011/10/17S 35.10°E 149.57°

Further data on Woodlawn Wind Farm
Project costAus$115 million
Turbine typeSuzlon S88, 2.1MW
Total average generation16MW
The capacity factor and average generation were calculated from AEMO figures for the period May 2011 to December 2012 inclusive.

 
Generation record
Up to end 2012

Generation record for Woodlawn

The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Woodlawn Wind Farm as recorded by AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) and downloaded via the ALG (Australian Landscape Guardians) Net site. The units are average megawatts generated month by month.
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Map Yass Valley Wind Farm
This map shows the originally proposed wind farm layout.
The upper left wind farm is Coppabella, upper right is Marilba and lower right is Conroy's Gap (proposal abandoned). Image credit Epuron
 
Updated 2016/04/08

Yass Valley Wind Farm

It seems that this wind farm, as an entity, no longer exists. Coppabella Wind Farm, originally to be a part of this, is discussed elsewhere on this page. Conroys Gap and Marilba Hills wind farms seem to have gone.

Epuron still has a Net page titled Yass Valley (Coppabella) Wind Farm.

Originally proposed by Epuron; this very big wind farm project incorporated Marilba Hills, Coppabella Range, Conroy's Gap and possibly Carroll's Ridge. It was to be south of Binalong, a little west of Yass and 100km west of Goulburn.

As it was originally to be...

The map was extracted from Epuron's Community Information Newsletter #1; the town at the top of the map is Binalong, Yass is a little off the map to the right. The northern highway is the Burley Griffin Way, that nearer the centre is the Hume.

The Coppabella Hills precinct, 10km SW of Binalong and the area on the upper left of the map, was proposed to have 82 turbines on 15 properties. The Marilba Hills precinct, 6km SW of Bowning and the area in the upper right of the map, was to have 70 turbines on ten properties. (Bowning is just off the right side of the map.) The proposed (then abandoned) Conroy's Gap Wind Farm is the small purple area south of Marilba Hills Wind Farm.

See elsewhere for Carroll's Ridge Wind Farm.

The proposed wind farms was to be spread over an area of about 7400 hectares, of which about 29ha would have needed to be cleared.



Summary data on Yass Valley Wind Farm as of April 2016

Status# TurbinesMW eachTotal MW Construction dateLat.Long.
Approved79?237 to 284? UnknownS 34.82°E 148.75°
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Other proposed wind farms

 
Updated 2017/05/28
In addition to the wind farms detailed above many others have been proposed (table below).

If and when any of these proposed wind farms look likely to be built, and as I get more information, I will write them up in more detail.

Until a wind farm gets at least to the point where an application for approval has been submitted to the relevant authority it may be little more than wishfull thinking and is not worth covering in more detail than that below. Some of the projects listed below are in this table simply because there is very little information available on them.

Wind farms that have been proposed in NSW

In alphabetical order
Project nameAreaSponsoring CompanyCapacity, MWStatus
Bannister S of Crookwell,
NW of Goulburn
Marubeni Corporation30.0Proposed
Bungulla 8km S of Tenterfield RES Australia?Proposed
Deepwater Unknown Epuron?Proposed
Evandale/Goulburn Wind Farm Goulburn Epuron30.0Terminated
Goulburn District Wind Farm Goulburn Actew-AGL10.0Proposed
Gurrundah Wind Farm S of Crookwell,
NW of Goulburn
Marubeni Corporation 35.0Proposed
Hargraves Dubbo-Orange area, NSW Infigen Energy Group?Proposed
Project nameAreaSponsoring CompanyCapacity, MWStatus
Lord Howe Island Off east coast?0.3Feasibility
MolongloCanberra Acciona Energy120.0Feasibility
Mount Spring Wind Farm N of Canberra,
S of Yass
ActewAGL10.0Proposed
Murrurundi Wind Farm 70km S of Tamworth GHG & GREP35.0Feasibility
Orange Wind Farm Orange areaInfigen65"Land arrangements in place"
Port Kembla Wind Farm Port Kembla coal terminal Pt Kembla Port Corporation/Epuron 14?Proposed
Shannon's Flat Wind Farm 35km N of Cooma CBD Energy Ltd50.0Proposed
Southern Highlands wind farm Southern Highlands ANZ Infrastructure Services30.0Suspended
Spring Hill Wind Farm 15km S of OrangeActew-AGL35.0Feasibility
Woolbrook Wind Farm 7km south of Woolbrook Newtricity Up to 90?EIS being prepared
For links to developers see Wind farm businesses




Links

The NSW Government has made available a fact sheet on their Wind and Solar Farm Inspection Program, December 2018. It answers questions such as:
  • Why are wind and solar farms important and how are they regulated?
  • When do wind or solar farms become State significant developments (SSD)?
  • How many wind or solar farms have SSD approvals and what is their status?



Development assessments of major projects are on the NSW Government Planning and Infrastructure site.




Index

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On this page...
Adjungbilly Wind Farm
Bango Wind Farm
Bannister Wind Farm
Ben Lomond Wind Farm
Biala Wind Farm
Berridale Wind Farm
Birrema Wind Farm
Black Springs Wind Farm
Blayney Wind Farm
Boco Rock Wind Farm
Bodangora Wind Farm
Bungendore Wind Farm
Bungulla Wind Farm
Carcoar Wind Farm
Capital Wind Farm
Capital 2 Wind Farm
Capital Wind Farm survey
Carrolls Ridge Wind Farm
Collector Wind Farm
Colour coding for wind farm status table
Contents
Coppabella Wind Farm
Crookwell 2 Wind Farm
Crookwell 3 Wind Farm
Crookwell Wind Farm
Crudine Ridge Wind Farm
Cullerin Range Wind Farm
Deepwater Wind Farm
Eden Wind Farm
Evandale-Goulburn Wind Farm
Flyers Creek Wind Farm
Glen Innes Wind Farm
Golspie Wind Farm
Goulburn District Wind Farm
Goulburn area-map
Granite Hills Wind Farm
Gullen Range Wind Farm
Gunning Wind Farm
Gurrundah Wind Farm
Hampton Park Wind Farm
Hargraves Wind Farm
Hills of Gold Wind Farm
Installed wind power, by wind farm
Introduction
Jupiter Wind Farm
Kooragang Wind Farm
Kyoto Energy Park Wind Farm
Lerida Wind Farm
Links
Liverpool Range Wind Farm
Lord Howe Island Wind Farm
Molonglo Wind Farm
Mount Spring Wind Farm
Murrurundi Wind Farm
New England Wind Farm
Nundle Wind Farm
Operational NSW wind farms
Orange Wind Farm
Other proposed wind farms
Paling Yards Wind Farm
Port Kembla Wind Farm
Renewable energy precincts-map
Rugby Wind Farm
Rye Park Wind Farm
Sapphire Wind Farm
Shannons Flat Wind Farm
Silverton Wind Farm
Snowy Plains Wind Farm
Southern Highlands Wind Farm
Spring Hill Wind Farm
Tarago Wind Farm
Taralga Wind Farm
Top
Twofold Bay Wind Farm
Uungula Wind Farm
Walcha Energy Project
Walwa Wind Farm
White Rock Wind Farm
Wind farms by location
Wind farms by region
Wind power in NSW
Woodlawn Wind Farm
Woolbrook Wind Farm
Yass Valley Wind Farm