3 GW Of Wind Power – A New Record – Achieved In Australia

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Australia achieved 3 GW or 3,000 MW of wind power generation for the first time. Actually, officially it was 2,988 MW, which surpassed the previous record from December 16, 2014.

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You might say that’s still short 12 MW, and you would be right, but the figure is only for the National Electricity Market, and there is some wind power in other parts of the country. For example, in Western Australia, there was about 50 MW being produced. There are also 37 MW from four wind farms that was in play. So, it is likely that 3 GW was exceeded if you count every source of wind power.

The largest wind power inputs came from South Australia with 1066 MW, and Victoria with 1021 MW. Australia’s largest wind farm contributed 388 MW. (Aren’t these numbers astounding – a single wind farm generating 388 MW?)

Australia has excellent wind power potential, especially in some of the coastal areas. A study found that it could generate about 30% of its electricity from wind by 2025, if it maintained the pace of installing new turbines. Currently, most electricity there is generated by burning coal and natural gas.

It has been reported that new wind power facilities can be cheaper to build than new coal or gas power plants in Australia. This fact may seem surprising or shocking to some folks, but renewable energy in some cases is cheaper to install than fossil fuel plants. Renewable energy has many advantages as well. When the energy storage industry catches up to wind power, there will not be any reason to resist either one of them. Costs are within reach and energy storage will mean there will be a way to accumulate electricity for use when winds die down.

For people who follow developments in alternative and renewable energy, the technology has proven itself. It appears to be mostly in the minds of those that are not paying attention, or who have not yet become aware of the most current information, where there is resistance.

Image Credit: Fairv8 via Wikimedia Common


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Jake Richardson

Hello, I have been writing online for some time, and enjoy the outdoors. If you like, you can follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeRsol

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