‘Not financially viable: Australia's first commercial wind farm set to be decommissioned
Renewable energy company Pacific Blue announced the Codrington wind farm, located near Port Fairy in southwest Victoria, is set to be decommissioned, as it is 'approaching the end of its technical life'.
'At this stage, Pacific Blue is not pursuing a repowering option for Codrington,' a statement from the company said.
'The site's grid connection would require significant upgrades and today's turbine siting requirements would preclude the installation of latest generation turbines which can have an output of over five times that of Codrington's current turbines.
'The company's analysis considered the limitations of space on the site and necessary upgrades to modernise the grid equipment, ultimately resolving that a new project at Codrington is not financially viable for this location.'
The wind farm has been in operation for 25 years, and was officially opened by former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks in July 2001.
The Codrington site was described by Pacific Blue as 'close to perfect', as it was placed to receive the full force of winds blowing off the Southern Ocean.
Each year, the wind farm generated enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 10,000 Victorian homes and prevented 49,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of taking more than 17,000 cars off the roads, according to Pacific Blue.
More than $9m was injected into the regional economy during construction and development and about 30 jobs were created with local companies contracted to install roads, foundations, towers, transformers and cabling to make the farm operational.
Pacific Blue said they were 'deeply committed' to engaging with the communities surrounding Codrington and in southwest Victoria throughout the decommissioning process.
'The company also needs to account for the needs and preferences of the site's landholders, whom it has successfully partnered with for over 25 years,' a statement said.
'Pacific Blue is grateful for their continued support on this project.'
Pacific Blue also said it is exploring how the 14 wind turbines, which have a hub height of 50m and blade tip height of 81m, could be recycled.
'The company is focused on delivering a thorough, respectful, and industry-leading decommissioning of Codrington Wind Farm, which includes exploring recycling options for as much of the site's infrastructure as possible while upholding safety and environmental expectations,' a statement said.
The company confirmed the turbines will be dismantled by crane.
The company is engaging with industry leaders to explore how best to recycle the blades, with options successfully executed overseas in the past including transforming them into surf boards and 'glamping pods'.
Last year, Queensland MP Mick de Brenni was spotted wearing sneakers made from recycled wind turbine blades.
In a statement, Pacific Blue revealed broader community and stakeholder engagement was planned for the second half of 2025.
Permit conditions require the decommissioning to be completed within 12 months of the wind farm ceasing to generate electricity.
Pacific Blue operates wind farms, hydro plants and solar farms across Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and NSW.
Codrington's decommission prompted calls to the Federal government from the Smart Energy Council to mandate a national product stewardship scheme so 'smart energy solutions don't become tomorrow's waste crisis'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Bruce Lehrmann's defamation appeal live: Hearing enters day two
Bruce Lehrmann's appeal against last year's defamation ruling continues in the Federal Court today before three presiding judges. Mr Lehrmann sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over an interview on The Project in which Brittany Higgins detailed her rape allegation. But last year, Justice Michael Lee found, on the balance of probabilities, the former Liberal Party staffer did rape his then-colleague in the Parliament House office of Senator Linda Reynolds, though he has consistently denied the allegation. Follow live.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Member for Traeger Robbie Katter crashes private plane in Mount Isa
Outback MP Robbie Katter has crash landed his plane for the second time in two years. The Member for Traeger landed his 1985 Mooney M20 plane at Mount Isa Airport about midday on Wednesday before damaging the aircraft on the ground. Mr Katter said the crash was caused by pilot error, related to the landing gear of the plane, during a three-day trip through his electorate in the Gulf of the Carpentaria. He had taken off from Normanton, 500 kilometres north of Mount Isa, earlier that day. His pregnant wife Daisy Katter and parliamentary chief of staff were on the plane during the crash, but all parties were uninjured. "It was pretty traumatic for everyone, particularly my wife, she's heavily pregnant," he said. "When you bring family or staff or friends or anything in there, there's a very real sense of responsibility when you're a pilot in command of an aircraft. "That's going to be a real psychological battle for me as well going forward, but I think most of it comes with trying to do things better and tidying up when you make mistakes and improving things too." He said the incident was uncomfortable to talk about, and he was unsure of the full extent of the damage to his aircraft. "If you look a bit close, you can see there's a lot of damage … it will be in the hands of the insurance at this point," he said. The Katter's Australian Party state leader has one of the largest electorates in Australia. The experienced pilot said he often flew himself across the 428,911 square kilometre electoral district. "It's a bit of an internal battle for me now … flight has become an integral part of the work that I do," he said. "It's going to be very hard to consider not flying again. "It really hurts me to have an incident like this because I work really hard at my competency." It is the second time since 2023 Mr Katter has had a landing incident at the Mount Isa Airport. He was flying the same plane as his most recent crash. In May that year, he was flying from his electorate office in Charters Towers to Mount Isa when he forgot to put the landing gear down moments before touching down in the outback city. He said it was too late to abort the landing, and his Mooney M20 landed on its undercarriage and skidded 50 metres before coming to a standstill. Mr Katter said at the time it was a "big wake-up call". The Australian Transport Safety Bureau had been notified of a landing incident at Mount Isa, involving a Mooney light aircraft, and was gathering further information prior to making an investigation decision. No injuries have been reported. Information from Flight Tracker shows it was the fifth flight Mr Katter piloted since Monday, having travelled across multiple locations in north-west Queensland. It took Mr Katter four years to obtain his pilot's licence and it cost him $50,000.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Albanese ‘forever tarnished' by Palestine pledge, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Anthony Albanese will be 'forever tarnished' by his decision to recognise Palestinian statehood. It comes after he earlier this weak lashed the Prime Minister in a social media post, saying history would remember him as a 'weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews'. Mr Netanyahu doubled down on his comments in a Sky interview set to air on Thursday night. 'I'm sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters,' he told the broadcaster. 'You know, when the worst terrorist organisation on Earth – these savages who murdered women, raped them, beheaded men, burned babies alive in front of their parents and took hundreds of hostages – when these people congratulate the Prime Minister of Australia, you know something is wrong.' Reacting to the comments, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said he shared the Israeli leader's opinion, saying Mr Albanese 'rewarded' Hamas with his Palestine pledge. 'What's happened is that organisation is still in control of Gaza, and the Prime Minister has rewarded that with statehood recognising a Palestinian state before Hamas has been dismantled,' Mr Hogan told Sky. 'It's a show of weakness, which is a terrible thing.' He said Jewish Australians were 'feeling unsafe because of this'. 'We saw Jewish Australians feel very unsafe straight after those attacks, when people in Australia were celebrating those attacks, and I think it emboldens them because they've been validated,' Mr Hogan said. 'That attack has been validated from the Prime Minister.'
