Are Southern Australian Windfarms Viable If The Roaring Forties Have Moved South?
Tasmania is said to have ideal conditions for producing electricity through wind power due to its location near the path of the Roaring Forties winds:
Tasmania is located south of the 40th parallel in the path of prevailing westerly winds, the Roaring Forties, which ensure that Tasmania has conditions that are ideal for producing electricity through wind power. Hydro Tasmania’s research shows that 1,000 MW of wind energy could be generated by utilising these winds; enough energy to supply electricity in Tasmania and to mainland Australia. With Basslink, Tasmania could potentially sell excess wind-powered electricity to Victoria and other southern mainland states during their peak-load periods.
At May 2003, there are four wind farm sites or potential sites in Tasmania: Woolnorth, King Island's Huxley Hill, Heemskirk and Musselroe.
Information on all three wind farms, can be found on the Hydro web site-http://www.hydro.com.au/home/
(Source: http://tinyurl.com/3vvp4de)
South Australian Premier Mike Rann is advertising South Australia as the place for wind farm investment, touting the location of the state's "best wind profiles of any Australian State":
When this Government came to power in 2002 there was not one wind turbine operating in the State...South Australia has some of the best wind profiles of any Australian State along and beyond our 3,700 kilometres of coastline.
“But we are not resting on our laurels. Our next challenge will be maintaining this share as demand grows, fuelled by the huge expansion in the State’s mining industry.
(http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=3881&print=1)
Public companies such as AGL Ltd have invested heavily in wind farms in the south:
AGL Managing Director, Michael Fraser, said that mid-north South Australia was highly
suitable for wind developments and that AGL was delighted to be a vital contributor to both the State, and in particular, the local community.
“AGL is Australia's largest private owner and operator of renewable energy assets and the company has invested significantly in South Australia. With one wind farm now completed, one under construction, and two more currently under investment consideration, the midnorth is confirmed as the hub of Australian wind farm investment,” Mr Fraser said.
“AGL has invested over $2 billion in developing the largest privately held renewable
generation portfolio in Australia..."
(http://www.agl.com.au/about/media/Pages/PremierMikeRannopensHallettStage1windfarm.aspx)
HOWEVER, according the Bureau of Meteorology, The Roaring Forties are moving south away from the coastline:
The Roaring Forties that used to bring Melbourne's cold, wet weather have moved south. Since 1997 Melbourne has been in an extended dry that David Jones, head of climate analysis at the Bureau of Meteorology, describes as exceptional and unprecedented
Jones says the long dry is "broadly consistent with what we expect with the enhanced greenhouse effect and also ozone depletion. If you look at different climatic models, they broadly follow this picture of change. Broadly speaking, the changes that we are seeing in southern Australia at the moment are at the extreme end of what one might expect," he says.
He says the Roaring Forties are shifting towards the South Pole, and there is evidence of similar change in the northern hemisphere. "There are very severe droughts impacts on many of the Mediterranean climates in the south-west US and the Mediterranean regions of Europe. There are currently some very severe droughts, and also substantial rainfall declines.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24546510-11949,00.html
Given the changing winds, can the Tasmanian and South Australian windfarms, which are being sold as investments that will harness the Roaring 40s, remain viable? Indeed, if the winds have already changed, are these farms viable at all?
Tasmania is located south of the 40th parallel in the path of prevailing westerly winds, the Roaring Forties, which ensure that Tasmania has conditions that are ideal for producing electricity through wind power. Hydro Tasmania’s research shows that 1,000 MW of wind energy could be generated by utilising these winds; enough energy to supply electricity in Tasmania and to mainland Australia. With Basslink, Tasmania could potentially sell excess wind-powered electricity to Victoria and other southern mainland states during their peak-load periods.
At May 2003, there are four wind farm sites or potential sites in Tasmania: Woolnorth, King Island's Huxley Hill, Heemskirk and Musselroe.
Information on all three wind farms, can be found on the Hydro web site-http://www.hydro.com.au/home/
(Source: http://tinyurl.com/3vvp4de)
South Australian Premier Mike Rann is advertising South Australia as the place for wind farm investment, touting the location of the state's "best wind profiles of any Australian State":
When this Government came to power in 2002 there was not one wind turbine operating in the State...South Australia has some of the best wind profiles of any Australian State along and beyond our 3,700 kilometres of coastline.
“But we are not resting on our laurels. Our next challenge will be maintaining this share as demand grows, fuelled by the huge expansion in the State’s mining industry.
(http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=3881&print=1)
Public companies such as AGL Ltd have invested heavily in wind farms in the south:
AGL Managing Director, Michael Fraser, said that mid-north South Australia was highly
suitable for wind developments and that AGL was delighted to be a vital contributor to both the State, and in particular, the local community.
“AGL is Australia's largest private owner and operator of renewable energy assets and the company has invested significantly in South Australia. With one wind farm now completed, one under construction, and two more currently under investment consideration, the midnorth is confirmed as the hub of Australian wind farm investment,” Mr Fraser said.
“AGL has invested over $2 billion in developing the largest privately held renewable
generation portfolio in Australia..."
(http://www.agl.com.au/about/media/Pages/PremierMikeRannopensHallettStage1windfarm.aspx)
HOWEVER, according the Bureau of Meteorology, The Roaring Forties are moving south away from the coastline:
The Roaring Forties that used to bring Melbourne's cold, wet weather have moved south. Since 1997 Melbourne has been in an extended dry that David Jones, head of climate analysis at the Bureau of Meteorology, describes as exceptional and unprecedented
Jones says the long dry is "broadly consistent with what we expect with the enhanced greenhouse effect and also ozone depletion. If you look at different climatic models, they broadly follow this picture of change. Broadly speaking, the changes that we are seeing in southern Australia at the moment are at the extreme end of what one might expect," he says.
He says the Roaring Forties are shifting towards the South Pole, and there is evidence of similar change in the northern hemisphere. "There are very severe droughts impacts on many of the Mediterranean climates in the south-west US and the Mediterranean regions of Europe. There are currently some very severe droughts, and also substantial rainfall declines.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24546510-11949,00.html
Given the changing winds, can the Tasmanian and South Australian windfarms, which are being sold as investments that will harness the Roaring 40s, remain viable? Indeed, if the winds have already changed, are these farms viable at all?
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