Wind Farms in Esperance and Albany
Australia’s first wind farm was commissioned in 1987 on a hill just outside Esperance, behind Salmon Beach. There were 6 Australian-manufactured Westwind turbines, each delivering a maximum of 60 kW. Backup power came from the original diesel power station for the isolated town of Esperance.
After 15 years, a combination of age, urban encroachment, and the availability of larger, more cost-effective turbines led to a decision by Horizon Power to decommission the original farm and build a new one. Four of the turbines were sold to a Queensland company, and two were donated to the town of Esperance. One is still standing at the original site, and the other is on display at the town’s museum. The original wind farm site is now a conservation reserve managed by the Shire of Esperance.
Horizon Power commissioned its second wind farm further east on a ridge inland from Ten Mile Lagoon in 1993. Nine 225 kW Vestas V27 turbines provided a peak capacity of 2 MW. The farm provided electricity for the town of Esperance, backed up with a small gas-fired power station. [1]
In 2004, Horizon Power commissioned a third wind farm nearby behind Nine Mile Lagoon, comprising six Enercon E40 600 kW turbines. Diesel and Wind Systems commissioned the farm.
Diesel and Wind Systems was a subsidiary company of Verve Energy, the state’s electricity generating company spun off from the earlier State Energy Commission of Western Australia (SECWA). Horizon Power itself was a division of SECWA, responsible for remote power generation and distribution to customers outside the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), Western Australia’s energy grid.
Both farms, with a total capacity of 5.6 MW, operated in parallel with the 30 MW gas turbine power station operated by Esperance Power Station Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of WorleyParsons. In 2007, the farms supplied a maximum 65% of the town’s energy needs, and the wind contribution averages 22%. A distributed digital control system regulated the wind farm, interacting with the gas turbine controllers. Eventually, the small scale of the project and high running cost made the farms uneconomic. After several years when the turbines were inactive, decommissioning commenced in 2022.
By 2025, Horizon Power and Verve had been absorbed by Synergy [2], Western Australia’s dominant government-owned energy generator and retailer. Synergy has announced a renewable energy hub for Esperance combining new wind generators, solar PV, and battery storage, lifting the contribution of renewables to 46% of Esperance’s power demand. This does not include the contributions of privately-owned rooftop solar installations in the town.
Aside from contributing electricity for the town’s residents and businesses, the Esperance wind farms provided important operating and maintenance knowledge for West Australian engineers. As a result, wind power now forms a critical element of the state’s energy generation capacity[3].
Esperance has a harsh climate for wind generators, especially from strong on-shore winds carrying both crystalline salt particles and saline liquid droplets. During the summer, hot dry offshore winds carrying dust with salt particles also result in significant corrosion of exposed metal components. High and low temperature extremes provide significant operating challenges, not unlike the demands of military grade equipment.
The Esperance wind farms have served as a laboratory to help ensure that Western Australian engineers have the knowledge required to launch full-scale commercial wind generation projects around the state as we transition from fossil fuel energy to renewables over the coming decades.
The farms have also provided valuable learning experiences on decommissioning wind farms [4][5].
Two turbines are providing a full-scale learning laboratory for students at the Midland TAFE college who are learning to operate and maintain today’s larger wind turbines. The remaining turbines have been relocated to other wind farms and are continuing to generate power. Even the foundations have been recycled, providing construction material for the Esperance Shire.
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Location of original Salmon Beach Wind Farm
Albany Wind Farms
Unlike the Esperance wind farms, Albany has been the site for two commercial wind farms. After ten years planning, Bright Energy commissioned the first in 2001 with 12 turbines south west of the town, along a long ridge above the sandy beach below [6]. The company is a joint venture between Synergy, the Western Australian electricity utility, and Potentia, a major investor in utility-scale renewable energy across Australia. Bright Energy operates several other large renewable generation facilities in WA.
The farm was built to supply up to 80% of the town’s electricity demand. In 2001 it was the largest in Australia, and the German ENERCON E66 turbines were the largest in the southern hemisphere with 65 metre towers and 35 metre blades. Each supplies up to 1.8 MW, roughly enough to run 1,800 single bar electric heaters. Maximum power is achieved with the wind blowing at 50 km per hour.
In 2011, the company installed 6 additional turbines known as the Grassmere wind farm, though both operate as a single installation. These were E70 turbines with a maximum capacity of 2.3 MW [7].
The high ridge overlooking the prevailing south westerly onshore winds is an ideal site because the ridge increases the wind speed.
These turbines are small compared with the most recent models from Enercon, generating up to 7 MW, 175 metres high with 87 metre blades.
Location of Albany Wind Farm
References
- ↑ History of Wind Farms in Western Australia, Synergy Blog, July 2018, retrieved May 2025
- ↑ https://www.synergy.net.au/About-us/Who-we-are/What-we-do
- ↑ Western Power (2024), accessed May 2025/
- ↑ Barker, S. (2024) Decommissioning by design and recycling wind farm infrastructure, Energy Magazine, accessed May 2025
- ↑ Vorath, S. (2024) Decommissioned wind farm sends old turbines to school, others back to work, Renew Economy, accessed May 2025
- ↑ Albany Wind Farms - Wikipedia, accessed May 2025
- ↑ ENERCON V70, The Windpower.net, Accessed May 2025
