10 December 2024
Located 80km off the north-west coast of Tasmania in Bass Strait, King Island is not connected to a mainland electricity supply. The wind farm was built in 1998 and is one of the oldest continuously working wind farms in Australia.
Jesse Clark, Executive General Manager of Assets and Infrastructure, said the upgrades would extend the life of the five hardworking wind turbines for at least 10 years.
To prevent waste, we are "repowering” the wind turbines rather than purchasing new units. This involves buying refurbished used equipment and reusing as many parts as possible. “The repowering will provide an important example of how to effectively maintain and refurbish aging wind farms to reduce waste and cost,” Jesse said.
All the wind turbines will be upgraded from the ground up, from the refurbishment of the foundations and towers to providing each of the wind turbines with a restored nacelle, which contains all the power generating components. The nacelles were refurbished in Denmark and restoration of the original turbine blades is being carried out by our crews on site at King Island, giving existing parts new life and ensuring they don’t go to landfill.
Before the system came into place, diesel powered the entire island 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! The goal is to reduce King Island’s reliance on diesel and replace it with clean, renewable energy. The wind farm’s two Vestas V52 wind turbines alone supply about 32% of the island’s energy demand, replacing about 640,000 litres of diesel annually.
The hybrid energy system will also be getting a new battery as part of the upgrades. The battery stores energy and balances out the peaks and troughs when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Extreme weather and logistics are just some of the challenges the project team faces day-to-day on the island. Massive cranes will be brought to the island via ship to lift the turbine parts into place.
Living on an island comes with other challenges. King Island Production Supervisor Jeramy Whitehouse-Summers said finding trained staff on an island with a population of 1,600 can be difficult and the team puts a strong emphasis on collaboration.
“Team dynamics and making sure everyone is happy and working together is really important because lost knowledge is really hard to replace being in a remote area, especially with the high cost of living here,” said Jeramy. “I’ve grown up in the community and have a great sense of community pride. Supplying power to the community is a great passion of mine, as it is for the rest of the team.”
The Huxley Hill Wind Farm refurbishment started in September 2024 and is expected to finish in 2027.
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