Townsville SOE - State of the Environment Report

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Wind use in Queensland

Twin Vestas 225kW wind turbines on Thursday Island
'Image Copyright © CADDET. All rights reserved.'

There are two commercial-scale wind projects in Queensland. One is on Thursday Island, and the other is on Windy Hill, Atherton Tablelands. There are also many small wind turbines used across rural Queensland.

See the EPA Sustainable Industries brochure:"Wind Factsheet"

Thursday Island
Two wind turbines on Thursday Island meet about 10% of the Islands energy needs (the balance is met by diesel generators). These units (pictured left), are manufactured by Vestas and have peak output of 225kW each. In their first year of operation, the turbines produced 1,680 MWh of power. Average annual wind speed on Thursday island is 7.5m/s.

Download brochure by Cadett Centre for Renewable Energy "Wind Power for a Remote Island Community"

www.caddet.org

Windy Hill
The installation of twenty wind turbines has transformed the town of Ravenshoe into a must see destination of the Atherton Tablelands.

The 12 MW wind farm is owned by Stanwell Corporation and operated by Enercon.

Download Stanwell Corporation Brochure:
"Its a sight to see"

View the Stanwell Corporation Windy Hill photo gallery

Four of the Windy Hill turbines.

Rural Windmill for water pumping
Wind driven water pump at Lakes GPT and wetland (Townsville City)

Windmill for water pumping

Another common application of wind power in Queensland is the Southern Cross windmill.

These windmills are commonly found across rural Queensland and are used for pumping water (or even in urban environments for stormwater quality management, (see picture left).

These windmills have multiple blades which allows them to operate effectively in very light winds and produce high torque. High torque is useful for pumping water but less useful for making electricity.

Sustainable Townsville