Main components: The primary (permanent) components of the proposed Newfield wind farm are:
# A total of fifteen (15), 1.5 MW turbines with hub heights of 69 m located along the ridgeline on the subject land;
# An electrical substation located adjacent to the Waarre Road frontage next to the existing electrical line that runs to the adjacent Otway and TRU Energy Gas Plant and Storage facilities;
# A control room, compound area and switchyard located within the substation area;
# An internal network of access tracks linking each turbine, and access tracks from Waarre Road and another access track via Collins Road;
# A series of underground electrical cables located in trenches alongside the access tracks, linking the electrical output of each turbine to the substation; and
# A permanent wind monitoring mast of about 70m high located on the ridgeline.
Management by manufacturers: AEO expects to reach a Warranty, Operation and Management agreement with the turbine manufacturers. Under this agreement, the manufacturer would agree to operate, manage and maintain the wind farm for the period of the warranty on the wind farm.
AEO to assume responsibility: Once the warranty expires, AEO would assume these responsibilities. But AEO would be confined to managing the day to day operation of the wind farm.
Control building: Ongoing maintenance of the wind farm would be undertaken on site. The control building will contain 12 kV switchgear, control, protection and communications equipment with associated battery power supplies and cabling.
Turbine monitoring: It will also house a centralised SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system. The SCADA system enables the monitoring and control of all wind turbines in the wind farm and the substation equipment.
Pre-empting Campbell: There is a 1979 record of the Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster from the coastline west of Port Campbell. It is considered unlikely that this species would occur within the study area.
A coastal bird: Due to the inland nature of the site and the lack of preferred coastal habitat, it is also considered unlikely that Orange-bellied Parrot would fly through the wind farm site.
Reference: Acciona Energy Oceania Pty Ltd/Energy generation and supply (renewable)/Newfield/VIC/Newfield wind farm. Reference No: 2007/3226. Proponent: Acciona Energy Oceania Pty Ltd, Level 3, 49-51 Stead Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205, Australia. Telephone: (03) 9696 6500, Fax: (03) 9696 6555, Email: jgaschignard@accionaenergy.com.au. Contact: Julien Gaschignard.
Erisk Net, 15/1/2007