Snowtown South Wind Farm has applied for an electricity generation licence for the second stage its South Australian wind facility.
Located on the Hummocks and Barunga Ranges approximately 5km west of Snowtown in South Australia, the intention is to add an additional 42 Siemens 3.0 MW wind turbines at the site.
According to a report on AdelaideNow, if approved by the Essential Services Commission of SA, the added turbines will produce the equivalent of 10 per cent of South Australia’s current electricity consumption; further cementing the state’s lead in wind power generation.
Stage 1 of Snowtown Wind Farm was completed in 2008 and is comprised of 47 Suzlon S88 2.1 MW wind turbines generating enough electricity to supply the power needs of nearly 70,000 average South Australian households. The facility experiences an annual average capacity factor of approximately 45%, making it one of the best performing sites in Australia and internationally.
The wind farm is owned by TrustPower, a New-Zealand based company that also operates two wind farms in NZ. The firm is also investigating wind generation opportunities in four other Australian states.
In other local wind power news, The Australian has been taken to task over an article published today claiming, among other questionable points, a growing body of evidence that wind farm noise could have health effects and citing Queensland Health’s alleged position on the topic.
Climate Spectator contacted the Queensland Department of Health to verify the report and was told the article was not correct. CS was referred to the National Health and Medical Research Council findings on wind turbine health effects; which state no solid evidence has been found to date to demonstrate sound emitted by wind turbines has any direct adverse physiological effect.
The existence of "Wind Turbine Syndrome" was also debunked by Australia’s Climate And Health Alliance (CAHA) earlier this year.
