To celebrate Global Wind day, let’s take a look back at Tasmania’s long and successful history of wind generation:
King Island Wind Farm (also called Huxley Hill Wind Farm) started in 1998 (23 years ago!), with three 250kW wind turbines. In 2003, two 850kW turbines were added. The wind farm has a total capacity of 2.5MW, and provides 35% of the energy for King Island’s 1600 residents.
Bluff Point Wind Farm, on the coast in North West Tasmania, was commissioned in two stages in 2002 and 2004. It has 37 wind turbines with a capacity of 65MW.
Studland Bay Wind Farm, just down the coast from Bluff Point Wind Farm, was commissioned in 2007. It has 25 wind turbines with a capacity of 75MW.
Musselroe Wind Farm, on the coast in North East Tasmania, was commissioned in 2013. It has 56 wind turbines with a capacity of 168MW.
Flinders Island Wind Farm was commissioned in 2017 and has a capacity of 900kW, displacing 60% of the diesel previously used to power the community.
Cattle Hill Wind Farm, in the Central Highlands, was completed in 2020. It has 48 wind turbines with a capacity of 144MW.
Granville Harbour Wind Farm, on the West Coast, was also completed in 2020. It has 31 wind turbines with a capacity of 122MW.
Tasmania’s total wind generation capacity is 577.5MW, in some of the best wind resources in Australia.
Image: Clockwise from top left – King Island Wind Farm, Flinders Island Wind Farm, Musselroe Wind Farm, Cattle Hill Wind Farm, Granville Harbour Wind Farm, Bluff Point Wind Farm.
