THE Kooragang Island wind turbine has found a new home in Tasmania where it will be used to power a sustainable poultry farm.
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Renewable energy company Blowing in the Wind bought the 73-metre high, turbine for an undisclosed sum this week.
The family-operated Tasmanian business will remove the structure from its home of 17 years in the next three months.
It will then be shipped to Sassafras in northern Tasmania.
‘‘We believe the wind in the area will make the project economically viable,’’ project manager Paul Fulton said.
‘‘But It won’t be going anywhere in the immediate future because we need to source specialist tools to disassemble it.’’
The company already has an existing turbine at the poultry farm.
It has installed several other refurbished turbines, which are used to power renewable energy businesses across Tasmania.
‘‘Basically we are interested in extending the life of an asset in a cost efficient manner and at the same time produce power that offsets coal-generated electricty,’’ Mr Fulton said.
A request for quotations for the purchase and dismantling of the Kooragang turbine, which produces about 900,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy a year, closed on 11 July.
An Ausgrid spokeswoman said Blowing in the Wind’s proposal was the best outcome for Ausgrid’s customers.
Hunter group CLEANaS was not asked to submit a bid as part of the request for quotations process, however, it did lodge two unsolicited proposals.
These proposals were at a significantly higher cost to Ausgrid and its customers.
The Vestas V44-600kW model turbine was one of the first commercial wind generation projects in Australia to become an accredited GreenPower project.
Ausgrid chief operating officer Trevor Armstrong said the turbine had played an important role in the development of Australia’s renewable industry.
“It has been an iconic symbol for the region,’’ Mr Armstrong said.
Ausgrid is now a network operator, not a generator or retailer.
“As a core poles and wires business we must focus on running our network and doing so as efficiently as possible," Mr Armstrong said.