Ararat Wind Farm

Ararat Wind Farm
Ararat Wind Farm in 2017
Map
CountryAustralia
Location9-17km northeast of Ararat, Victoria
Coordinates37°14′S 142°59′E / 37.24°S 142.98°E / -37.24; 142.98 (Ararat Wind Farm)
StatusOperational
Construction beganAugust 2015
Commission dateApril 2017
Construction costA$450 million
OwnersPartners Group, RES Australia, OPTrust, GE
OperatorWindlab
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Hub height85 metres (279 ft)
Rotor diameter103 metres (338 ft)
Power generation
Units operational75 × 3.2 MW
Make and modelGeneral Electric 3.2-103
Nameplate capacity240 MW
Capacity factor27.49% (average 2018-2021)
Annual net output578.0 GWh (average 2018-2021)
External links
Websitewww.ararat-windfarm.com
[edit on Wikidata]

Ararat Wind Farm is a wind farm in western Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately 180km northwest of Melbourne.[1] It was officially opened on 27 June 2017 and was the third-largest wind farm in Australia at that time, with capacity to generate 240MW from 75 turbines.[2]

The farm has General Electric turbines that have a rated capacity of 3.2 MW,[3] a hub height of 85 metres,[4] 103 metre rotor diameter,[1] and a tip height of 135 metres.[1]

Of the 75 turbines, 70 are in the Rural City of Ararat and five are in the Shire of Northern Grampians.[5]

Operations

The wind farm began grid output in August 2016[6] and reached full output in June 2017[7] and has operated continuously since then. The generation table uses eljmkt nemlog to obtain generation values for each month.

Ararat Wind Farm Generation (MWh)
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2016 75,683 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 716* 8,266* 18,075* 22,087* 26,539*
2017 474,810 30,091* 36,563* 36,941* 34,929* 33,736* 16,404* 50,732 45,204 55,910 45,690 38,293 50,317
2018 592,510 53,655 46,062 56,475 30,700 54,112 38,952 63,663 56,214 44,039 53,829 48,864 45,945
2019 576,679 50,997 41,975 40,628 32,156 49,759 50,346 51,941 58,583 45,636 45,893 51,321 57,444
2020 589,419 53,954 46,572 62,532 39,658 55,387 37,301 37,466 50,866 56,740 52,194 42,836 53,913
2021 553,226 61,029 43,860 41,105 30,585 44,109 41,653 51,395 45,724 43,136 48,326 50,474 51,830

Note: Asterisk indicates power output was limited during the month.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ararat Wind Farm Key facts and figures" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Australia's third-largest wind farm switches on to full capacity". RenewEconomy. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Ararat (Australia) - Wind farms - Online access - The Wind Power". www.thewindpower.net. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Ararat Wind Farm Round 2 Noise Compliance Testing" (PDF). p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Ararat Wind Farm, Victoria". Power Technology. Verdict Media Limited. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Ararat Wind Farm begins production in Victoria during August – WattClarity". Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Ararat Wind Farm fully switched on". www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.