The Portland Wind Energy Project, covering four sites in and around Portland, was approved in 2003 and has been built in stages over the last few years.
Stage 1 at Yambuk is operational producing enough zero emission electricity to power the equivalent energy needs of around 18,000 Victorian homes annually; construction of Stage II at Cape Bridgewater is complete and the project is currently going through commissioning, a testing period which runs through a range of checks before the project becomes fully operational; and Stage III at Cape Nelson South is now well underway with roads and foundations complete and ready for the first generators to be erected in the coming weeks and months.
Pacific Hydro is now working towards finalising the last stage of the project, Stage IV, which covers sites at Cape Nelson North and Cape Sir William Grant. Through the process of finalising the design of the project we have identified three changes we propose to make. The changes relate to generator numbers, their location and size.
Proposed Layout Changes
Pacific Hydro has refined the site layout for Stage IV through an iterative design process which has taken into account a range of factors including the local environment, visual amenity and cultural heritage. Through this process and due to technological advances in the wind industry which have seen great improvements in generator efficiency, we now propose to reduce the number of generators at the final stage of the project, increase the height of some generators and also move them off the top of the sand dunes at Cape Nelson North.
The final layout proposes a total of 27 generators, reduced from the maximum 58 allowed across the two sites, bringing numbers down by over 50%.
Of the 27 generators now proposed, the 11 at Cape Nelson North are proposed to increase in height to 126m (total height from the ground to the tip of the blade) while at the same time we propose moving them from the top of the sand dunes down onto the grazing land, therefore neutralising their increased height.
At Cape Sir William Grant, Pacific Hydro now proposes a total of only 16 generators. Six (6) are proposed at 110m (total height), two (2) at 115m (total height), four (4) at 121m (total height) and four (4) are proposed at 126m (total height).
Overall across the two sites, lower turbine numbers will reduce all environmental impacts, including visual amenity, cultural heritage impacts, native vegetation and the (already low) risk to birds and bats.
Click here to view photomontages of original and proposed designs.
Aviation Safety Lighting
The new proposed height of generators will necessitate aviation safety lighting to be fitted to some generators in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). CASA guidelines require that structures above 110m in total height must carry aviation safety lighting.
Pacific Hydro has consulted with CASA in regards the extent of lighting required. We have been advised that it is likely that seven (7) generators at Cape Nelson North and seven (7) generators at Cape Sir William Grant will be required to be fitted with lights.
Aviation safety lighting would be fitted to the nacelle of the generators (not the blades) and would be synchronised to flash together at each site. The lighting is specifically designed to notify pilots that an object greater than 110m is in the landscape; it is not designed to light up the generator nor light up the ground below and has been designed specifically with a narrow beam to manage these factors.
Documents for download
Community comment form (PDF 94kb)
Newsletter (PDF 1.5MB)
Proposed Layout Cape Nelson North (PDF 1.5MB)
Proposed Layout Cape Sir William Grant (PDF 1.4MB)
Portland Wind Energy Project - Stage IV Photomontages All (PDF 4MB)
Bridgewater Road Photomontage (JPEG 400k)
Cape Nelson Road Photomontage (JPEG 600k)
Mailings Road Photomontage (JPEG 445k)
Panoramic Drive Photomontage (JPEG 480k)
Picnic Hill Photomontage (JPEG 440k)
Point Danger Photomontage (JPEG 490k)
Portland Esplanade (JPEG 580k)