NSW Small Wind Turbine
Consumer Guide
Disclaimer
The content of this publication is provided for information purposes. To the extent permitted by law, Enhar does not accept any liability for loss or damages
incurred as a result of reliance placed upon the content of this publication. This publication is provided on the basis that all persons accessing it undertake
responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content.
Front page photo: courtesy of Rewind Energy Pty. Ltd.
Development of this Guide
This Guide was authored by Enhar during the period October-November 2010. It is an adaptation of the Victorian Consumer Guide to Small Wind Turbine
Generation [Ref 1] prepared for Sustainability Victoria by Enhar. Sustainability Victoria provided permission for its content to be used for this Guide; this
permission is gratefully acknowledged.
The NSW Oce of Environment and Heritage (OEH) commissioned Enhar to revise this guide for the context of New South Wales, taking into account
dierences in feed in taris, development guidelines and installer contact details, plus accounting for new developments in wind turbine installer
accreditation requirements which are eective nationally.
As part of the development of this Guide, a NSW Small Wind Industry Roundtable event was held on 15 November 2010 in Sydney. Invitees to this event
included small wind turbine manufacturers, wind turbine installers, industry and trade associations, training organisations, skills councils and owners of small
wind turbine systems. Feedback was taken from the attendants on the content of this Guide and a consultation was held on a draft of this document.
In May 2011, this Guide was updated to reect recent changes to the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme and recent changes to NSW planning provisions relating to
small wind turbines. These updates to the document were undertaken by OEH.
Acknowledgements
Enhar acknowledges contributions from the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DoP&I) to Chapter 4 on Planning Approval, including text and
materials that have been directly used in this Guide. The NSW DOP&I also provided case study materials that have been used in this Guide. Wind turbine
installers and wind turbine owners also kindly provided data for these case studies.
Enhar also acknowledges data input provided by OEH, including analysis of retail electricity price projections in NSW, and input from the Department of Trade
and Investment, Regional Infrastructure & Services.
Published by: Oce of Environment and Heritage
59-61 Goulburn Street. PO Box A290, Sydney South 1232
Ph: (02) 9995 5000 (switchboard) Ph. 131 555 (environment information and publications requests)
Fax: (02) 9995 5999 TTY: (02) 9211 4723
Email: info@environment.nsw.gov.au Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au
OEH 2011/0449 ISBN 978 1 74293 265 1 10 June 2010
Printed on 100% recycled paper
© Copyright State of NSW and the Oce of Environment and Heritage NSW.
With the exception of photographs, the Oce of Environment and Heritage is pleased to allow this material to be reproduced in whole or in part for
educational and non-commercial use, provided the meaning is unchanged and its source, publisher and authorship are acknowledged. Specic permission is
required for the reproduction of photographs.
Prepared by:
Enhar Sustainable Energy Solutions
Email: info@enhar.com.au
www.enhar.com.au
3
Table of contents
List of gures 4
List of tables 4
Glossary 4
Quick Guide 6
Chapter 1. Introduction 8
Chapter 2. Assessing your site 12
Chapter 3. Choosing a turbine 21
Chapter 4. Planning approvals 38
Chapter 5. Installation 42
Chapter 6. Case studies 51
Chapter 7. References and further reading 61
Appendix A Small Wind Project Checklist
Appendix B List of small wind turbine suppliers
List of small wind turbine products
List of small wind turbine installers in NSW
4
List of gures
Figure 1.1 Typical wind turbine system overview
Figure 2.1 Variation of wind turbine yield with annual average wind speed
Figure 2.2 The Griggs-Putnam Index linking tree growth to probable long-term
average wind speeds at 30m above ground level
Figure 2.3 Turbulence ‘shadow’ cast by obstacle
Figure 2.4 Examples of cup anemometers with wind vanes
Figure 2.5 Examples of wind data loggers
Figure 3.1 Basic components of an upwind wind turbine
Figure 3.2 Basic components of a downwind turbine
Figure 3.3 Example wind turbine power curve
Figure 3.4 Wind turbine tower designs
Figure 3.5 Examples of urban wind turbine systems
Figure 3.6 Illustration of REC income earnings from small wind turbine installations (15 year
lifetime)
Figure 5.1 Electricity distribution areas in NSW and ACT
Figure 5.2 Schematic of a gross metering system
Figure 5.3 Photograph of gross meter arrangement
Figure 5.4 Schematic of a net metering system
Figure 6.1 Two SMA 5 kW inverters and controllers
Figure 6.2 Fortis Alize wind turbine
List of tables
Table 3.1 Types of wind turbines
Table 3.2 REC earnings from small wind turbines with current solar credit multipliers (as of November 2010)
Table 3.3 Indicative economics of wind turbine systems
Table 4.1 Summary of key exempt development requirements in the Infrastructure SEPP
Table 4.2 Summary of key complying development requirements for ground-mounted systems in the
Infrastructure SEPP
Table 4.3 Key permitted with consent requirements under the Infrastructure SEPP for small wind turbine
systems (generating no more than 100kW)
Table 5.1 Grid connection process for small wind turbines
Glossary
To help you understand a wind turbine system, a list of common terms used in relation to small wind energy is
presented below:
Air density Mass of air per unit of volume. Air density aects the energy available in the wind
as with higher air density, more mass passes the blades for a given wind speed.
Airfoil The shape of the blade cross-section, designed to create signicant lift forces
from the moving air.
Anemometer A device that measures wind speed. A common type uses cups that use drag
force to rotate a shaft.
Average wind speed The mean wind speed over a specied period of time.
Blades The aerodynamic surface that generates lift from the movement of the wind.
Brake Various systems used to stop the rotor from turning.
Cut-in wind speed The wind speed at which a wind turbine begins to generate electricity.
Cut-out wind speed The wind speed at which a wind turbine ceases to generate electricity.
Downwind On the opposite side from the direction from which the wind is blowing.
5
Feed in tari The rate at which the owner of a renewable generator is paid for exporting power
to the grid.
Furling Protection for the turbine where the rotor rotates out of the wind either in the
yaw direction or by tilting back.
Grid The utility power distribution system; the network that connects electricity
generators to electricity users.
HAWT Horizontal axis wind turbine.
Hub The centre of the wind turbine rotor, where the blades join the shaft or each
other.
Hub height Vertical distance between the centre of the wind turbine rotor and the ground.
Inverter A device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC).
kW Kilowatt, a measure of power for electrical current (equal to 1000 watts).
kWh Kilowatt-hour, a measure of energy equal to one kilowatt generated continually
for one hour. You are normally charged in units of kWh on your power bill
MW Megawatt, a measure of power (1,000,000 watts).
MWh Megawatt-hour, a measure of energy equal to one megawatt generated
continually for one hour.
Nacelle The body of a propeller-type wind turbine, containing the gearbox (if the turbine
has one), generator, blade hub, and other parts.
O&M Costs Operation and maintenance costs.
Power coecient The ratio of the power extracted by a wind turbine to the power available in the
wind stream.
Power curve A chart showing a wind turbine’s power output across a range of wind speeds.
This should be measured in real eld conditions, preferably by an independent
accredited test centre.
Rated output capacity The output power of a wind machine operating at the rated wind speed.
Rated wind speed The lowest wind speed at which the rated output power of a wind turbine is
produced.
Rotor The rotating part of a wind turbine, including either the blades and blade
assembly or the rotating portion of a generator.
Rotor diameter The diameter of the circle swept by the rotor.
Rotor speed The rotational speed of the wind turbine rotor.
Start-up wind speed The wind speed at which a wind turbine rotor will begin to spin. See also ‘cut-in
windspeed’.
Swept area The area swept by the turbine rotor, A = πR2, where R is the radius of the rotor
and π is 3.142.
SWT Small wind turbine.
Tip speed ratio The speed of the tip of the rotor blade relative to earth divided by the wind
speed. This is typically a design feature of the turbine.
Turbulence Short term changes in wind speed and direction, frequently caused by obstacles
such as trees and houses. Turbulence extends some distance downwind from the
obstacles and also above the obstacles, so your turbine should be sited outside of
these zones.
Upwind On the same side as the direction from which the wind is blowing; windward.
VAWT Vertical axis wind turbine.
Wind farm A group of wind turbines, often owned and maintained by one company.
Yaw The rotation of the rotor and nacelle about a vertical axis, allowing the turbine to
stay facing into the wind.
With acknowledgements to the Consumers Guide to Small Wind Electricity Systems by K. O’Dell of NREL, USA
(2004), reproduced by various state governments of the USA, on whose glossary of terms the above list is based.
We also acknowledge Daniel Jones from RISE who provided valuable feedback on the glossary.
6
Quick Guide
In NSW, small wind turbines sized to suit domestic
properties, farms or small businesses are becoming
increasingly popular. Small wind turbines oer several
benets:
generate your own electricity
attract rebates and government incentives
provide power day and night
environmentally friendly, no carbon emissions
nancially attractive in high wind areas
What is a small wind turbine?
‘Small wind turbines’ are generally those rated at 10kW
or less. Mid sized wind turbines range up to several
hundred kilowatts. A typical wind system consists of a
turbine, a tower, a controller, a grid connected inverter
and a meter.
O-grid wind turbines
are linked to battery
systems for remote
properties. Grid
connected wind turbines
export power into the
electricity grid.
Most modern small wind
turbines are suciently
quiet that you can hold
a normal conversation
at the base of an operating turbine without needing to
raise your voice.
How much energy do they produce?
A 10kW wind turbine on a windy site may generate
25,000kWh per year. This is around three times the
average power consumption of a domestic residence in
NSW. A 3kW turbine might generate 9,000kWh per year.
What size are they?
A 2-3 kW turbine is around 3-4m in diameter, usually
mounted on a tower between 12m and 18m tall. A
10kW turbine is usually 7-10m in diameter, normally
mounted on a 12-30m tower.
Wind speeds generally increase with elevation, hence
increased tower height can assist to boost turbine
yields. Common tower types include guyed and
monopole. Foundations are required, up to 3m wide by
2m deep for 10kW systems.
Wind turbine systems can also be mounted on
buildings where the building design is suitable for the
structural loading caused by the wind turbine system.
Is my site suitable?
Your site is suitable for a small wind turbine if it has:
good wind resources
turbine location suciently close to grid
connection
location for economic installation costs
sucient distance to neighbouring dwellings to
meet noise criteria
local grid infrastructure suitable for supporting
your wind generation.
Other important siting considerations include:
soil type (for turbine foundation)
crane and concrete truck access
set backs fromw roads and power lines.
Building-mounted installations have special
requirements including careful assessment of building
loading codes, turbulence at roof edges, vibration and
amenity considerations.
Wind resource
Wind turbines require a consistent ow of wind all
year round un-interrupted by nearby objects such as
trees and buildings. Rural, hilltop and coastal locations
oer strong wind resources, tall city buildings can also
oer strong wind resources.
For most sites wind monitoring is recommended for
condence in the turbine performance predictions.
Anemometer systems to record wind speeds can be
purchased for a few hundred dollars.
Annual average wind speeds at your turbine position
and height should be at least 4.5m/s-5m/s. More
attractive paybacks are achieved at sites with 6m/s and
above.
7
Homsbury - 15kW turbine for rural
re station
Financial incentives
Government nancial incentives are in place for small
wind turbines. Small wind systems also generate
Renewable Energy Certicates (RECs), which can be
sold throughout the project lifetime. Owners earn
between approximately ve to 25 percent of the
initial capital cost of the small wind system from RECs.
The capital cost of small wind turbines can also be
depreciated against tax.
In general, payback periods
of recent installations vary
between seven and ten years,
however this may vary as state
and federal policy incentives
are updated.
Choosing a turbine
You can choose a turbine
size to oset your annual
power usage or to optimise
economic benets.
Manufacturers of turbines
appoint approved regional distributors or a company
may design, manufacture and install your system.
A range of small wind turbines available in NSW is
provided in this Guide.
To minimise turbine failure and ensure high standards
of safety, consumers are advised to select turbine
products with demonstrated track records and which
meet appropriate standards.
Australian standards for wind loading apply to
tower and turbine systems, while compliance with
the international standard for small wind turbines
demonstrates that safety and reliability tests have been
met.
Most retailers provide ‘power performance curves’
for their turbines, that is, the purported amount of
electricity generated at various wind speeds. In making
a purchasing decision, it may be prudent to check
whether independent, veried power performance
data for the wind turbine is available.
Noise levels from the turbine should be certied to
recognised international standards. Properly measured
‘sound power level’ data assists in complying with
development approval requirements for turbine siting.
Development approvals
Planning approval needs to be considered when
contemplating installing a small wind turbine.
Some small wind turbine installations may be subject
to what’s called ‘exempt or complying development’
provisions. These provisions provide for a simpler
approval process, however you must satisfy certain
requirements, for example, you may need to install the
turbine at a nominated distance from neighbouring
houses for the provisions to apply.
Noise is considered during the approval process for
small wind turbines. If development consent is required
from the local council, you’ll most likely need to supply
a noise impact assessment as part of your application.
It is important that you establish what type of planning
approval is needed, because noise and other
environmental impacts are considered as part of that
process.
The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure
(DoP&I) has introduced additional planning provisions
for small wind turbines in rural and other zones. The
provisions will allow turbines that meet prescribed
performance standards to qualify as exempt
development or complying development
Finding an installer
Once you have
decided on a turbine
product to install you
should contact the
manufacturer to nd an
installer in the local area.
Installers of small wind
turbines in Australia
are required to hold
endorsement from the
Clean Energy Council.
Contact wind-endorsed
CEC installers, arrange
for them to visit your site
and request a full quote.
Compare quotes and
choose your installer. Normal timescales from down-
payment to completion vary between several weeks
and a couple of months.
Milton - 5.8kW wind turbine for
home / farm
Milton - 5.8kW turbine for
home/farm
8
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1 Background
If you are interested in purchasing a small wind turbine
for your home or business in New South Wales, this
Guide is for you. You will nd useful information here to
assist you make an informed decision about whether
to purchase a wind turbine system and what type of
wind system to get. By ‘small’ wind turbine, we mean a
turbine of a size that would suit the needs of a domestic
dwelling or small business. These are less than 150kW
maximum capacity and are most commonly in the range
of 1-10kW. ‘Large’ wind turbines are those used on wind
farms for utility scale power generation, and are generally
about one hundred times bigger than the wind turbines
referred to in this Guide.
If you want a wind turbine system to supply power to
your school, community organisation or small business,
you may be considering a system larger than those used
for domestic houses. This guide also provides information
which remains relevant for medium sized wind turbines.
Wind turbines:
use wind power to generate electricity for your
use
store excess electricity in batteries for later use, or feed electricity into the grid to reduce your electricity
bill.
1.2 Benets of small wind turbines
Benets of a wind turbine system to the householder or small business
Wind turbine systems generate electricity
Wind turbines operate day and night – whenever it is windy
Wind powered electricity creates no greenhouse gases or other harmful pollutants
Once you have paid for the system, the wind turbine generates power from a ‘free’ and
inexhaustible source – the wind
Wind electricity can complement a solar system
A wind turbine can supplement or supply all of your power needs.
9
1.3 System overview
A small wind turbine system comes with several important components. The diagram below
represents a typical small wind turbine (SWT) system at a house.
Figure 1.1: Typical wind turbine system overview
This illustration shows how a grid-connected SWT works. The meter arrangement shown here is for a ‘gross
metering’ situation.
The diagram shows a three-bladed wind turbine sitting atop a guyed tower. The electricity generated by the
wind turbine is shown travelling to a controller through a cable trench. The controller makes sure the turbine
is operating within safe limits and recties the varying frequency AC to DC. The DC power is then passed to an
inverter where it is converted into AC power of the same voltage and frequency as electricity from the grid.
There is a switch to disconnect your inverter and wind turbine system for maintenance if required. Electricity
travels from your wind turbine inverter to your gross meter which records how much electric power is generated
by your wind turbine, day and night. This allows your energy provider to measure the amount of power for which
they are to pay you. This gross meter allows power to ow from your turbine to the grid whenever your turbine is
generating power.
NSW Consumer Guide to Small Wind Turbine Generation
Page 10 of 76
1.4. System overview
A small wind turbine system comes with several important components. The diagram below represents a typical
small wind turbine (SWT) system at a house.
Figure 1.1: Typical wind turbine system overview
This illustration shows how a grid-connected SWT works. The meter arrangement shown here is for a ‘gross metering’
situation.
The diagram shows a three-bladed wind turbine sitting atop a guyed tower. The electricity generated by the wind turbine
is shown travelling to a controller through a cable trench. The controller makes sure the turbine is operating within safe
limits and rectifies the varying frequency AC to DC. The DC power is then passed to an inverter where it is converted
into AC power of the same voltage and frequency as electricity from the grid.
There is a switch to disconnect your inverter and wind turbine system for maintenance if required. Electricity travels
from your wind turbine inverter to your gross meter which records how much electric power is generated by your wind
turbine, day and night. This allows your energy provider to measure the amount of power for which they are to pay you.
This gross meter allows power to flow from your turbine to the grid whenever your turbine is generating power.
Also connected to the grid is your usage meter which records the amount of power which you consume from the grid,
and is the amount for which you are charged by your energy provider.
‘Net metering’ is an available alternative to gross metering and is described in section 5.4. Economic considerations
influencing your decision to install either a gross or a net meter are discussed in Section 3.10.4.
Small Wind Turbine
Cable Trench
(Underground)
Grid
connect
Inverter
Switch
Grid
supply
Your power
usage
Guyed Tower
Wind
turbine
Controller
Usage
Meter
Gross
Meter
1010
Also connected to the grid is your usage meter which records the amount of power which you consume from the
grid, and is the amount for which you are charged by your energy provider.
‘Net metering’ is an available alternative to gross metering and is described in Section 5.4. Economic
considerations inuencing your decision to install either a gross or a net meter are discussed in Section 3.10.4.
1.4 How long will it take to get a wind turbine installed?
The process from rst choosing a wind turbine to having it installed is likely to take several months. The Process
Flowchart on the following page will give you an idea of what the overall process might look like.
If you are considering a wind turbine, questions you should ask include:
Is my site suitable for a wind turbine? Advice on conrming site suitability is given in Chapter 2
How do I choose a turbine? Advice on choosing a wind turbine is given in Chapter 3
How much energy will I generate? Advice on forecast power generation is given in Chapters 2 and 3
What is the likely payback period? Advice on economics and payback is given in Chapter 3
What funding is available in NSW? Information on funding sources is given in Chapter 3
How do I obtain development approval? Advice on development approval is given in Chapter 4
How do I sell my generated electricity? Pointers on how to sell your exported power are given in Chapter 5
Are there examples of wind turbine
installations that are relevant to me?
Case study examples of several wind turbine installations are given in
Chapter 6
Where are wind turbines available for sale
in NSW?
Appendix B gives a list of available wind turbine products
Where can I nd an installer?
Refer to Appendix B to learn where you can nd wind installers active in
NSW
11
YOUR WIND TURBINE PROJECT
FLOWCHART
1. Site and feasibility
assessment
Choose a:
• Turbine
• Tower
• Inverter
• Controller
which is well suited to your
wind resource, site and budget.
Conduct your own research or
contact an installer for its design
recommendations.
3. Development
approval
Contact your local council to
conrm planning requirements.
Supply your council with your
project details as requested to
obtain relevant permits to proceed.
4. System
installation
2. System design
Choose a competent installer to
undertake this job. The installation
team must include a qualied
electrician and a licensed builder.
Discuss with your installer the
dierent options for gaining
nancial benets from your
RECs:
• Upfront discount
• Assist as an agent
• Become an individual trader
Arrange a gross or net meter to
be installed and connected.
The system is installed and
connected to the grid by your
chosen installer team.
5. System
operation
If you have elected to become
an individual RECs trader, you
can now begin the process of
applying for and registering
your RECs.
Begin using electricity generated
from your turbine in your house.
Earnings will be made from
all power generated by your
turbine.
When necessary, electricity will
be imported from the grid.
Ensure your wind turbine system
is regularly maintained by a
qualied person.
Wind resource assessment
Options:
• Wind monitoring using an an
emometer
• Online estimation tools
• Observation of wind speed
indicators
• Consulting with an installer
• Checking Bureau of
Meteorology Data
Turbine location
Consider:
• Distance to obstacles such
as trees
• Proximity to your dwelling
and to your neighbours’
properties
• Public amenity
• Environmental impacts (eg
birds and bats)
Budget estimation
Consider cost of:
• Site assessment
• Consultation fees
• Turbine, tower, inverter and
controller
• Development approval fees
• Installation and maintenance
fees
• Consider earnings from:
• Renewable Energy Credits
Finance calculations
• Get rm quote for cost of
system, installation and
maintenance
• Estimate electricity
generation
• Calculate Renewable
Energy Credits (RECs)
12
Chapter 2. Assessing your site
Before proceeding, you should ensure that your site is going to be a good candidate for a wind turbine. It is
essential that you have strong and consistent winds at the turbine location. Low turbulence wind is preferred and
also the turbine and its tower structure must be an acceptable addition to the local neighbourhood.
In this chapter, you will learn:
what type of site is suitable for a small wind turbine
methods to estimate and measure the strength of your wind resource
the eect that local obstacles and turbulence have on your wind turbine
development consent and budget considerations associated with wind resource
assessment.
It is also likely to be worthwhile consulting a professional wind installer for advice on whether your site has a
suitable wind resource. Details of accredited renewable energy installers with wind endorsements are available
through the Clean Energy Council – see Chapter 5 and Appendix B for further information.
2.1 Site wind speed and annual yield estimation
To know how much power your turbine will produce, you rstly must know what the average wind speed is at the
turbine position. Wind turbine brochures often provide an estimated annual yield calculated from average daily
yield in kWh, based on your annual wind speed in m/s. To illustrate how much your wind speed aects your annual
yield, we have produced the graph below.
Figure 2.1: Variation of wind turbine yield with annual average wind speed
Each of the lines in the above graph is based on performance information from real turbines, from specications
published by the manufacturer of the turbines. You can see from this graph that the dierence between a 4m/s
site and a 6m/s site is more than twice the annual energy from any turbine. In fact, the power in the wind is
proportional to the wind speed cubed, which means a small increase in speed causes a large increase in energy.
The previous graph is only intended as a guide – not an absolute rule – of how much your turbine will generate.
13
Monitoring the wind speed is a way to nd out a more exact estimate of how much a wind turbine will generate
at your site. However, this is an up-front cost that you need to undertake normally at your own risk, meaning that
if you nd out that the wind speed is too low, you will have paid for monitoring but may choose not to proceed
with installing a wind turbine. Some wind turbine installation companies may oer to supply wind monitoring
equipment to you to test your site and then discount the cost of the monitoring o the nal price of your turbine if
you decide to go ahead.
A much debated point in small-scale wind energy is whether you are better o to save the money you would
have spent on setting up a monitoring system, trust that the wind turbine will work, and put that saving towards
purchasing your wind turbine system. This would only be a wise choice if you have a very strong wind resource in
the rst place; so strong that you don’t need monitoring to conrm it. Indicators of a very strong wind resource are
listed below.
If online data sources indicate strong winds in your region and your site is well exposed to regional and local
winds, without any sheltering objects nearby, then you probably don’t need to monitor to conrm your
resource.
You can estimate your regional wind resource online, using data from the following sources for example:
i) Global ‘Firstlook’ database, available from 3Tier – www.3tier.com.
You can register for free and view a 5 km grid of relative windiness at any address globally.
Wind reports are also available at www.rewindenergy.com.au, which includes a wind speed estimated range at 14
m above ground level.
ii) The NSW Wind Atlas – a wind speed map at 8 km resolution, showing annual average wind speeds at 65 m
above ground for the whole of NSW, available from the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional
Infrastructure and Services [Ref 2].
Bear in mind that at your turbine hub height, say 20 m, the wind resource will be lower than the mapped 65 m
values. This map was produced for the large scale wind farm industry and at an 8 km resolution, indicates wind
resource levels regionally.
When using wind maps such as i) and ii), bear in mind that wind resource is not uniform over the 8 km or 5 km grid
used in these applications. This means that local eects such as sheltering from trees or houses can dominate at
your site, causing signicant dierences between your site and the regional average; these are not shown on the
online wind maps.
The NSW Wind Atlas [Ref 2] advises: ‘The wind speed colours shown on the Atlas are accurate to a resolution of 8
km. While the Atlas gives a general impression of the NSW wind resource, it does not incorporate the eects of local
landscape features smaller than 8 km in size, like small hills and ridges. Consequently, the Atlas cannot be used as the
sole means for siting a wind farm.’
iii) You can also refer to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) data published at www.bom.gov.au to check if you have
a bureau station nearby. Most BoM stations record wind speed; you can tell from the site description whether wind
speed records are shown. The wind speeds are normally measured at 10 m above ground level.
Bear in mind that dierent topography and obstacles surrounding your site compared to the BoM site will give
rise to dierences in wind resource. In general though, at the very least, the BoM data will give you a guide to the
major local prevailing wind directions.
14
Once you have established that your region has strong wind resources, say above 7 m/s at 65 m, you can be
condent that your site will have good wind resources if your proposed turbine location is free of obstacles in the
prevailing wind directions and/or is on ground elevated about the surrounding topography.
Local vegetation grows windswept. As a supplementary indication to the other methods listed, one useful
indicator of strong long-term prevailing winds is bushes and trees growing at an acute angle. The diagram below
gives you some idea of the mean wind speeds which relate to conifer growth.
Figure 2.2: The Griggs-Putnam Index [Ref 3] linking tree growth to probable long-term average wind speeds at
30 m above ground level
Remember, if your turbine tower is lower than 30 m, the wind speed will also be lower than the table above
suggests, due to a phenomenon called ‘wind shear’, which causes wind speeds at lower levels to be slower than
higher levels.
Surrounding area is very open, grassy and free of trees and other houses. If your local area is open in all the main
prevailing wind directions, with no trees or houses blocking the wind, then you can probably expect at least a
moderate wind resource. If this is combined with the conrmation that your region has a high wind resource from
wind maps (see above) then you probably have a high wind resource site.
Turbine position is on hilltop higher than surrounding obstacles. If you have an available site for your turbine
which is atop a hill (whose peak is at least 20-40 m above the local surrounding area) and free of obstacles in the
prevailing wind directions, then you probably have a good wind resource site.
Urban areas: These are less likely to have good wind resource sites compared to open rural areas, as demonstrated
in urban wind resource studies. Some of the best urban wind resources are to be found along shorelines and atop
tall buildings.
Will my installer be able to provide an on-the-spot estimate of my wind resource?
Yes, usually your installer will be able to provide a judgement on the likely productivity of your wind turbine. It is
important to note that an educated estimate of wind speed from your installer isn’t the same as a guarantee of
turbine output.
You should invite wind turbine installers to visit your site and use their experience to assess your wind resource.
This will allow them to advise on other aspects of the installation, which will be useful in planning your project,
and provide a quotation based on real knowledge of your site.
Where can I go for further information on estimating wind resources?
There are many guides to estimating your wind resource and wind turbine productivity; some of these are
published on the internet and are listed in the References Chapter below.
No deformity
Brushing and
slight agging
Slight agging
Moderate
agging
Complete
agging
Partial
throwing
Complete
throwing
Carpeting
Speed @ 30m 3-4 m/s 4-5 m/s 5-6 m/s 6-7 m/s 7-8 m/s 8-9 m/s 10 m/s+
15
2.2 Avoiding excessive turbulence
What is turbulence?
Figure 2.3: Turbulence ‘shadow’ cast by obstacle
Bear in mind that as well as wind speed, there is another important factor in your local wind climate – turbulence.
Turbulence is the uctuation of wind speed and direction due to eddies and other small-scale circulation of wind.
If the turbulence is low, this means you have smoother ow, whereas if it is higher you have more turbulent ow.
Higher turbulence in the wind causes mechanical stresses on the wind turbine and tower structure, reducing the
energy captured by the turbine. Therefore sites with lower turbulence are preferable.
The diagram above [extracted from Ref 4] illustrates how to avoid turbulence from an isolated obstacle of height,
H.
2.3 Wind monitoring
Wind monitoring is the key for accurately estimating the electrical power supplied by your wind turbine. If you are
unsure of your resource, you are strongly advised to monitor it using the techniques described in this section.
If online data sources indicate strong winds in your region and your site is well exposed to regional and local
winds, without any sheltering objects nearby, then you probably don’t need to monitor to conrm your resource.
This section provides step-by-step guidance on how to install and program anemometers and data loggers and
includes a description of simple anemometers and data loggers, their installation, programming, and evaluation of
wind data.
Professional wind installers and consultants can also provide advice and wind monitoring services.
2.3.1 I know it is windy here. Why do I need to measure it?
Because wind turbine output is so sensitive to wind speed, even ‘small’ dierences in speed cause a big dierence
in energy output. Personal experiences of local winds are unfortunately an inaccurate way of determining wind
velocities. The turbine output is a long-term function of the variation of wind speeds over days, months and years,
so the ‘spot values’ you experience from time to time, even if you did know the exact wind velocity, are not equal
to the more important long-term average.
16
2.3.2 Monitoring wind speed will be costly, why should I spend the extra money?
Monitoring is the best way to be sure, in advance, of how much power your wind turbine will produce and to avoid
the risk of ending up with a poorly performing system. At locations with sheltering in some directions, the speeds
at your turbine position may be marginal, causing your nal power output to be disappointing.
Some advisors may suggest to ‘suck it and see’, to avoid the time and expense of monitoring. While this might
suce for a small wind turbine at a very windy site, if you are making an investment in a larger turbine or are
in an area of moderate wind, or you are unsure of your wind resource, the cost of monitoring is likely to be very
worthwhile
If an anemometer was purchased prior to the installation of a wind turbine it can further add value to the system
by providing a useful gauge of whether the turbine is continuing to perform properly.
Another benet of monitoring wind speeds is that if you can demonstrate a very good wind resource with
measured wind data, there is a good chance you can claim a higher number of Renewable Energy Certicates
(RECs), and therefore more income for your site.
2.3.3 What are anemometers and wind vanes?
An anemometer is a device used to measure wind speed. The most common and simple type in use is a ‘cup’
type, which consists of cups that catch the wind and spin at a rate which is proportional to the wind speed. Cup
anemometers often come with wind vanes which measure wind direction. Wind vanes have a rudder type shape
which causes them to line up with the incoming wind direction. Anemometers and wind vanes are often attached
to each other as a single unit.
Some examples of anemometers with wind vanes are shown in Figure 2.4.
Weather monitoring kits include rain gauges and anemometers; these can be a cost eective method to obtain a
rst estimate of wind resource at your site. Low cost equipment generally provides lower accuracy and may not
come with the warranties available with higher cost equipment.
Figure 2.4: Examples of cup anemometers with wind vanes
2.3.4 What sort of data format is most useful?
Wind speed is the most important measurement; the more precise the better. Wind speed generally uctuates
up and down during any given interval. Anemometer systems generally sample at a high frequency such as once
every second, however the data is recorded on the basis of a longer averaging period. Short averaging periods
such as one minute allow for more accurate analysis, however you should consider managing the available
memory storage and your data handling time. Wind speeds should be set to meters per second to save time
converting wind speeds if other units are used.
NRG anemometer and vane Davis Instruments anemometer
and wind vane
product code 7911
APRS anemometer and vane
17
Wind direction is also important for your study. The wind direction data should ideally be recorded in degrees,
using the meteorological convention of zero at north, running clockwise through the compass.
Turbulence is also an important piece of data that can be recorded by an anemometer system. As stated before,
sites with low turbulence are preferable.
Other data such as temperature and pressure may be recorded by your system, especially if it is a weather station.
This information may be of some interest but is not essential for your wind feasibility study.
2.3.5 What are data loggers?
Data loggers record the wind speed records and store them so you can retrieve them later. Some examples of data
loggers are shown in Figure 2.5.
Figure 2.5: Examples of wind data loggers
Your data logger will come with either a paper manual or an online manual. It may also come with software to
download and analyse the data. If you are relying on battery power rather than mains power, make sure you start
with new and high quality batteries to ensure continual operation. Reading the manual can determine how long
the batteries will last and when they should be replaced to avoid losing weeks or months of data.
It is recommended that you visit your wind mast regularly to collect data and to check the system. Your periodic
wind monitoring checklist should include whether:
anemometer and vane are working (cups are moving in response to current breeze, vane is pointing downwind)
logger is receiving data (screen shows data being currently read and batteries are working) pole is vertical
tension in any guy wires is okay
damage from birds or other animals has not occurred (eg birds such as Cockatiels have not pecked through
cables)
data received is okay (data reads properly in your computer and makes sense when graphed).
2.3.6 Where can I get an anemometer system?
You can purchase a low cost wind monitoring kit from:
• EBay (be aware these may not come with warranties)
• Alternative Technology Association (www.ata.org.au) or Energy Matters (www.energymatters.com.au)
• www.davisnet.com.au (Davis wireless anemometers and weather stations)
• Wise Wind – Australian distributor of the Power Predictor from Better Generation, a relatively new
anemometer product designed for domestic scale wind project feasibility.
18
Advanced anemometers such as ultrasonic are also available. These have the advantage of three dimensional
wind proling and no moving parts, however they normally come at a considerably higher cost than the cup type
anemometers listed above.
There are other sources of anemometer kits – you should look around for the supplier that best suits you.
If you know that you want to monitor several sites, it may be worth investing in a higher grade anemometer and
re-using it at multiple sites.
2.3.7 What sort of pole should I mount the anemometer on?
Wind speed varies with height above ground; it is generally weaker and more turbulent at lower levels and
stronger and less turbulent at higher levels. You should therefore plan for the hub height of your wind turbine
to be a good distance above the ground. It is best to mount the anemometer as close to the turbine ‘hub height’
as possible, so that you measure representative winds. If you end up monitoring at a lower height than the wind
turbine, your wind data will generally underestimate the energy output of the turbine.
You can account for this by estimating the increase in wind speed from your monitoring height to the turbine hub
height using a ‘shear prole’ calculation. However, this will introduce some uncertainty into your estimate, which
means you may end up needing to be more conservative than if you had monitored higher up at turbine hub
height.
You can install a pole yourself or ask a local company to do it for you. TV antenna masts, which are in common use
on top of houses, are up to 15 m tall and are equally suited to installation on the ground for wind monitoring at
prospective ground-mounted turbine locations. These are telescopic poles which can be installed by two or three
people; this process would normally take a day or less.
Local TV installation companies that deal with improving your TV reception are likely to have experience in
installing telescopic poles and would have the suitable skills and equipment for this type of work. CEC endorsed
wind installers (see Chapter 5.1) can provide or advise on wind monitoring solutions. The cost of the pole
installation including labour will be signicant; it may well be higher than the costs of the anemometer itself, but is
a worthwhile investment for the reasons stated above.
When mounting the anemometer on the pole, it should be positioned to experience the least disturbance from
the pole itself. If you are installing an anemometer on an existing structure, it would be advisable to build a
horizontal arm which holds the anemometer far from ow disturbances around the existing structure.
For the perfectionist, there is an International Standard called IEC61400-12, which species wind speed monitoring
including the mounting of anemometers. This set of standards is written for large scale wind farming but will also
be of interest to the dedicated small wind turbine project manager. Standards can be obtained free of charge
through library subscriptions, or at a cost from the SAI Global or Standards Australia websites.
2.3.8 A word of caution against over-reliance on wind monitoring
Wind speed measurement by anemometers assists in making power yield estimates, however the more basic
anemometer systems that are aordable for small wind projects may not take into account subtle eects such as
turbulence and rapid directional changes.
These eects may cause your turbine to generate less power than would be expected from the annual mean wind
speed data alone. Guarantees of annual output from wind turbines are rare, even when recorded wind data is
obtained.
19
CASE STUDY – MR MARQUARDT’S WIND MONITORING SYSTEM
Interested in setting up a grid-connected wind turbine at his rural
property, Mr Marquardt purchased a Davis anemometer and built a
5 m pole. He installed this at his prospective wind turbine site over
18 months ago. After downloading the data from the logger onto his
laptop at regular intervals, Mr Marquardt engaged a consultant to
analyse his wind data.
The consultants’ report showed that the long-term wind speed at 5
m above ground was 4.3 m/s – and taking wind shear into account –
would be around 5.3 m/s at 15 m and 5.5 m/s at 20 m.
The annual output of two turbines was predicted at 4,900 kWh/year for
2.4 kW turbines and 11,300kWh/year for 6kW turbines.
This allowed Mr Marquardt to estimate his annual returns if he were to
invest in a wind turbine system.
2.3.9 Do I need a development approval to monitor winds?
In NSW there are currently no state-wide planning provisions designed for small scale wind monitoring masts.
Under Clause 39 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 [Ref 5], large scale wind
monitoring systems up to 110 m in height are exempt from the need to obtain a development approval, providing:
• the structure is in place for less than 30 months
• the structure is in a location enclosed by a fence preventing
unauthorised entry (ie not
accessible to the public)
• the structure is not within 100 m of any public road
• the structure is at least 1 km from any dwelling, except by prior
written permission from the owner of that dwelling
• the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has been notied in writing
before the mast is installed, including:
(i) the tower’s ‘as constructed’ longitude and latitude
coordinates
(ii) the ground level elevation at the base of the tower,
referenced to the Australian Height Datum
(iii) the height from ground level (existing) to the topmost point
of the tower (including all attachments)
(iv) the elevation to the top of the tower (including all
attachments), referenced to the Australian Height Datum
(v) the date proposed to remove the tower.
You can proceed without a permit if your anemometer mast meets the above criteria.The exempt development
provisions, described in Chapter 4, include provisions for wind monitoring towers associated with small wind
turbines. Your local council’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) may also refer to planning provisions for wind
monitoring masts.
Temporary structures below a certain height may also be exempt or complying development in your local Council
LEP. Enquire to your local council regarding whether a temporary wind monitoring mast could qualify under such
provisions.
9m wind monitoring mast with Davis equipment
20
If a development approval is required, you will need to submit a development approval application to your local
council along with a description of the mast including location, height and date it is expected to be removed.
2.3.10 How long should I leave the wind monitoring system in place?
Wind climates experience cycles of many timescales including very short timescales (minutes) to long timescales
(seasonal patterns). As a minimum you should monitor wind speed for several months; the longer the better.
2.3.11 How do I analyse the wind speed information?
The wind records will contain a lot of speed and direction data. If your logger system came with software, you can
use this to do some of the analysis.
You should check through the data and exclude any periods when the logger was not recording or the instrument
was known to be faulty or out of action. Only ‘true’ records should be included in your averaging calculation. If
using Excel spreadsheet, you can use the ‘average’ function to determine your long-term wind speed.
Some systems may come with a facility to upload your measured data to a website where the analysis is performed
for you.
Wind climates vary through seasons and also vary from year to year. Therefore you might like to obtain wind data
from a nearby Bureau of Meteorology Station that is concurrent with your recorded site wind data, plus long term
records from the same Bureau Station for a longer period such as several years. By comparing the average of the
Bureau site wind speed during the period of your site monitoring to the Bureau average over the long-term period,
you can estimate whether the period you measured was more or less windy than normal. You can then make an
adjustment to your estimate to obtain an estimate of long-term wind speed at your site.
2.4 Budget for assessing your site
You could buy an anemometer and vane with logger for as little as $200, or up to $1,200 for the wireless
anemometer products discussed above. A 9 m mounting pole with guy ropes purchased and installed yourself
could be as little as $200, while a professionally installed 15 m telescopic system could be upwards of $2,000.
Higher quality and more reliable products are generally worth paying more for, since they help to properly assess
the site.
If a development approval application is required, application fees of several hundred dollars will be payable to
your local council.
2.5 Suitability of local grid infrastructure
The continued performance of a grid connected wind turbine is dependent on the response of the local grid
infrastructure to the presence of the wind turbine. The ability of the turbine and its inverter to operate properly
may also be dependent on other factors external to the customer site, which aect the local grid.
Ask your installer to conrm that the power line between your meter and the local transformer will be able to
accommodate your wind turbine system properly. Are the specications of the local power line sucient to allow
your turbine and inverter system to export power continuously?
21
In this chapter you will learn:
what types of wind turbine are available
how to choose a wind turbine that suits your needs
about important safety features of small wind turbines
about particular requirements for turbines at urban sites
how much a wind system will cost and what rebates are available.
Figure 3.1: Basic components of an upwind wind turbine
The above diagram shows the basic components of a horizontal axis small wind electric system with a multi-phase
permanent magnet alternator as the inset. The turbine rotates on a vertical axis called the yaw axis and faces the
rotor with blades square-on into the wind direction. This is an upwind machine (ie the rotor is located upwind of
the tower).
The rotor itself rotates on a horizontal axis through aerodynamic forces. There are two types of aerodynamic
forces – lift and drag. It is the lift eect that is the primary force causing the blades to rotate. When the blades are
turning, this mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy using an alternator, which produces alternating
current (AC) electricity. Copper or aluminium coils attached to the rotor through a shaft rotate in a magnetic eld
generated by xed permanent magnets. A bridge rectier, which can be contained within or on the outside of the
generator housing, converts AC electricity to direct current (DC). Some systems have a mechanism that allows the
rotor to turn or furl and reduce the area of the blades facing the wind to protect it from damage during high wind
speeds.
Chapter 3. Choosing a turbine
Rotor
With blades
Generator
housing
Tower
Vane
Wind
direction
Wind
direction
Trust of
wind
Yaw axis
Lift on
vane
Yaw forces
balanced
Rotor with
multiple coils
Multi-phase alternator inset
S
Rotor
axis
N
Top view
Side view
Basic components of a small upwind wind turbine system
Rotor sits square to the wind direction
Yaw axis
22
Refer to Appendix B for a selection of wind turbines available in NSW.
Below is a basic owchart outlining how to choose the right turbine.
Alternatively, you can start by identifying local installers who service your area, then enquire what turbine types
they recommend:
An energy audit of your house prior to choosing a suitable wind turbine will also help you take advantage of any
energy eciency opportunities in your household. This will be benecial later on to maximise your potential
earnings from the net feed-in tari. The less electricity you consume and the more you export to the grid will allow
for the best nancial outcome under a net arrangement. Information on how to conduct a household energy audit
can be found in Chapter 7 under Further Reading.
Contact your local wind turbine installer
Find out what turbine type and size your local installers oer
Select your turbine type and size in consultation with your installer, to suit your site and
power demand
Consider your power demand and your estimated/measured site wind
speed, then the size turbine required to meet your demand
(see Figure 2.1)
Review the wind turbine types on the market (see Appendix B)
Select one or more turbine(s) that may suit your needs
Ask the manufacturer of the selected turbine(s) to identify a local
installer qualied to install its turbines
Contact the installer to request information about its services
Arrange for the installer(s) to visit your site
Obtain full quotations from the installer(s) for the chosen turbine(s)
Conrm your turbine type in light of these quotations
23
3.1 Approved wind turbine products
In relation to rebate eligibility, there is currently no formal wind turbine product approval system operating in
Australia. This means that any small wind turbine product can be eligible for rebates, providing the grid connect
inverter is an approved product and the installer is suitably qualied.
In future, the regulations prescribing standards to qualify small generator units for rebates may be amended to
include compulsory standards for small wind turbines. The listing of approved products managed by the Clean
Energy Council would then reect this, however no specic plans have been announced for a wind product list to
date. Check industry news for updates on this situation.
3.2 Types of wind turbines
Table 3.1: Types of wind turbines
Axis of rotation Turbine orientation Tower type Mounting location
• Horizontal axis
• Vertical axis
• Upwind
• Downwind
• Tilt-up
• Monopole
• Guyed pole
• Lattice
Ground mounted
Roof/building mounted
Figure 3.2: Basic components of a downwind turbine
Want a larger turbine?
If you want to install a larger wind turbine in the 100-500 kW capacity range, you will come across dierent
challenges such as:
• fewer turbines on the market in the ranges above 100 kW
• feed in tari rules potentially not applying above 100 kW (ie power companies are not obliged to purchase
exported power).
Rotor
With blades
Generator
housing
Tower
Wind
direction
Wind
direction
Yaw axis
Rotor with
multiple coils
Multi-phase alternator inset
S
Rotor
axis
N
Top viewSide view
Yaw axis
Rotor sits square to the wind direction
Basic components of a small downwind wind turbine system
24
Please note that issues specic to larger wind turbines (>100kW) are not addressed in this guide. Further
information sources are given below.
Want a really large turbine?
Your community group may wish to be involved in a commercial
scale wind facility (eg a 2MW or 3MW wind turbine). Community
groups in Australia are successfully developing such projects,
and commercial developers are also partnering with community
groups who wish to own a share in a wind farm. Your approach
to this scale of project should be similar to how a wind farm
company approaches the development of a wind farm.
Embark is an organisation dedicated to assisting community groups to create renewable energy projects. The
Embark website (www.embark.com.au) contains useful information on the process of developing a community
wind farm. The NSW Renewable Energy Precincts coordinators can also assist (see ‘Further Reading’).
You may also consult the NSW Wind Energy Handbook for useful information. This can be found on the NSW
Industry & Investment website at: www.industry.nsw.gov.au/energy/sustainable/renewable/wind
3.3 Turbine performance and power curves
Turbine manufacturers usually provide a ‘power curve’ that gives the instantaneous power output of the turbine at
various speeds. You can generally obtain a power curve for each turbine you are considering.
An example of a turbine power curve is given below in Figure 3.3, which is a power curve for the Gaia wind turbine.
‘Cut-in speed’ refers to the wind speed at which the turbine starts to generate power. ‘Rated power’ is the stated
output for the turbine at a rated wind speed. ‘Cut out speed’ is the point at which the turbine will shut down due to
excessive wind speeds.
At high wind speeds, automatically furling turbines move to face themselves out of the wind, which causes power
to be safely shed. The wind speed at which the turbine ceases to generate power is called the cut-out wind speed,
this is often around 20-25m/s. If turbines are designed to withstand higher wind speeds while still generating
power, then the cut-out wind speed will be higher. Although additional generation at high wind speeds is
therefore available from turbines with high cut-out wind speeds, the occurrence of very high wind speeds is
infrequent at most sites. The operating eciency at the wind speeds containing with the most annual energy,
normally 7-9m/s for a site with annual average wind speed around 5m/s, has a more signicant eect on annual
power yield than the level of the cut-out wind speed.
Typically, rated power is measured at a wind speed in the range 10-14 m/s. The BWEA and AWEA standards
for small wind turbines require the rated power to be quoted at 11 m/s; this standardisation is aimed to assist
consumers to compare wind turbine products. It should be noted that rated output may be dierent to peak
output (the maximum point on the curve below).
A mid sized wind turbine: 330kW
25
The red area indicates the turbine operating in a stall mode, where the air foils stall due to the grid limiting the
rotor speed while the wind speed increases. This reduces the power output of the turbine and protects the turbine
from excessive loading.
Figure 3.3: Example wind turbine power curve
Some power curves are not independently veried and a number of studies on turbine performance have shown
that ‘design’ power curves often published in promotional literature are inaccurate compared to performance
at real sites, particularly at high wind speeds. One such study is the Encraft Warwick Wind Trial Project in Britain,
which assessed the data from 26 building mounted turbines from ve dierent manufacturers over one to two
years. This study showed that the power curves always overestimated power output at high wind speeds (above
~7 m/s), but were reasonably accurate at lower speeds. [Ref 7].
Another study is the ongoing Small Wind Turbine Test Field project in the Dutch Province of Zeeland [Ref 8].
Here, eleven dierent models of turbines have been installed at the same site, and their annual power output is
measured as well as wind speed on an adjacent mast. The measured yield of each turbine is publicly published,
as well as the initial manufacturer estimates based on their power curves. Comparison of the actual measured
outputs to the estimates demonstrates that many of the forecasts were unrealistic, while in a minority of cases the
forecasts were exceeded.
These two studies show that care should be taken when using manufacturer’s power curves to estimate energy
yield. Customers should ask retailers and distributors if there has been any independent testing of their turbine’s
performance and/or if the power curve has been veried by an independent testing body.
3.3.1 Safety and reliability
To minimise turbine failure and safety problems it is recommended to buy a turbine from a company with longer
term experience and a good product track record. A ve year warranty would be a good indication of this.
American wind energy expert Mick Sagrillo has produced a list of ‘Questions Any Small Wind Turbine Manufacturer
Should Be Willing and Able to Answer About Their Products’, which is available on the American Wind Energy
Association website: www.awea.org
Some of these questions include:
• How long have you or your company been in business?
• How long has this turbine model been in production?
• How many production models have been sold to ordinary consumers?
• How many of the turbines you sold are still running?
26
You might nd these questions useful to ask a turbine manufacturer before making a purchase, or request that
your installer answers them for you. Some other useful questions you might want to ask include:
• What are the maintenance requirements, who can do the maintenance and what is involved?
• Does the turbine meet small wind turbine Standards? (see Section 3.5).
• What happens if the grid is disconnected while the turbine is running? Does the turbine stop? Can it
freewheel? What happens if the wind picks up while the turbine is disconnected?
• What safety features are included in the design? (question to the supplier)
• Are there are any other safety issues which are important?
The British Wind Energy Association has set up a ‘Microgeneration Accreditation Scheme’. It is worth checking
this website to see which turbines have completed the rigorous requirements for the scheme and received
accreditation. The website of this scheme (www.microgenerationcertication.org) lists wind turbine products.
A major safety issue with small wind turbines is over-speeding. While most wind turbines are designed to handle
short gusts at very high wind speeds, typically turbines need to employ some system to either stall the turbine or
to brake it.
This becomes a particularly major problem when a turbine becomes unloaded. When a turbine is loaded (ie
power is being drawn from the unit), the generator unit has electromagnetic forces operating around the turbine
shaft. This helps to slow the turbine rotation. If a grid connected system goes oine (eg in the case of a power
black out), the turbine becomes unloaded and can spin at very high speeds. This can become very dangerous, as
prolonged operation at these rotational speeds can destroy the turbine and cause it to ‘throw’ a turbine blade. This
is particularly an issue for horizontal axis turbines.
It is therefore important to check that a turbine has some method for ‘overspeed protection’. This can include:
• furling – a mechanical action to physically turn the turbine out of the wind
• mechanical braking – a mechanical brake physically stops the turbine from spinning
• dynamic braking – power is diverted to a resistive bank dump load
• electronic control – varies the load on the generator to reduce the turbine RPM
• exible blades – will limit the rotational speed of a turbine at higher speeds, but won’t
necessarily provide protection in unloaded situations
• blade pitching – rotates each blade about its own axis, reducing the air foils angle of attack and therefore the
rotational speed.
It is generally recommended that some form of aerodynamic overspeed protection is used (eg furling/mechanical
brake), as it is the most reliable means of shutting down/slowing down a turbine spinning at high speeds.
However most turbines have some form of overspeed protection, which is suitable for most circumstances.
3.4 Wind turbine noise
Noise needs to be considered when you are contemplating installing a small wind turbine. Generally speaking,
the louder the turbine, the further away you’ll need to locate it from neighbouring or nearby houses. Noise is
considered during the approval process for small wind turbines. If development consent is required from the local
council, you’ll most likely need to supply a noise impact assessment as part of your application. Some small wind
turbine installations may be subject to what’s called ‘exempt or complying development’ provisions (see
Chapter 4).
These provisions provide for a simpler approval process, however you must satisfy certain requirements. For
example, you may need to install the turbine at a nominated distance from neighbouring houses for the
provisions to apply. So it is important that you establish what type of planning approval is needed, because noise
is considered as part of that process.
We have consulted with the turbine companies on our estimate of the sound power level from each turbine type
and notes are provided at the end of the table of turbines in Appendix B. In some cases, sound power levels have
not been conrmed by manufacturers and are estimates only.
27
3.5 Australian Standards for wind turbines
Product Standards exist for consumer goods of many types, to protect customer rights and to protect customer
safety.
All grid connected inverters attached to, or built into, small wind turbine generators must meet AS4777 and
AS3100. These standards also apply to grid connected solar inverters; there are further details about this in Section
3.7. In addition, wind turbine installations are to be compliant with AS1170.2 (Wind Loading codes).
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) is the body in Australia that administers the accreditation of renewable energy
installers and the listing of solar photovoltaic modules and grid connected inverters in Australia.
The draft Australian Standard for Small Wind Turbines – ‘AS 61400-2 (Int) 2006’ – was adapted from a series of
international standards developed for the large scale wind turbine industry. Part 2 of this International Standard is
specically designed for small wind turbines, while Part 11 deals with noise from any sized wind turbine.
Wind turbines in Australia can meet this standard, or the international equivalent, IEC61400-2, however there is
currently no regulated requirement enforcing this standard in Australia.
There is therefore currently no list of approved wind turbine products published by the CEC.
As new regulations and incentives promote a greater uptake of SWTs in Australia, compulsory criteria to meet
Standards is more likely to emerge. A National Small Wind Turbine Testing Centre exists at RISE (Murdoch
University) in Western Australia. The RISE testing centre is testing Australian-made SWT products.
As a consumer of a wind turbine, it would be a good idea to enquire with your supplier whether the wind turbine
you are considering meets the International Standard IEC61400-2. Be prepared for the reality that few small
turbines yet meet this standard, though your manufacturer may be quite capable of giving you other assurances
of reliability and safety.
Since compliance with IEC 61400-2 is the direction in which the global SWT industry is being encouraged to move,
your wind turbine supplier should at least be able to demonstrate that its business plan is heading towards this
Standard.
O grid wind turbines should be designed and installed to AS 4509 ‘Stand-alone Power Systems’.
3.6 Choosing a tower
There are a range of tower designs used for small wind turbines. The main types are shown in the gure on the
following page.
28
Figure 3.4: Wind turbine tower designs
Guyed towers are usually the lowest cost option, however a certain footprint area is required to accommodate the
guy wires. To perform maintenance on the turbine, the tower can be lowered using a hand winch.
A monopole tower uses the least footprint area, and is normally more expensive due to the thicker and heavier
steel required in the pole as well as the larger and heavier foundation compared with the guyed type. The see-saw
monopole is a special design that includes a counter-balance, allowing a person to easily lower the turbine to the
ground where maintenance can be undertaken.
Lattice towers are a common sight with windmill water pumps, and have also been used for electricity generating
wind turbines.
A lattice or monopole tower without a lowering system requires any maintenance work to be undertaken
from a piece of machinery called a cherry picker, from a basket suspended from a crane (for very tall towers) or
by climbing the pole. All of these maintenance methods should be undertaken by qualied personnel using
appropriate safety procedures.
Your installer may recommend a specic tower type, or the turbine manufacturer may specify the tower type or
sell the turbine and tower as a kit.
The tower with its specic wind turbine should be certied to meet the Australian Standards for wind loading,
AS1170. The tower should also be manufactured to a good standard with special attention given to strength of
welds and quality of materials.
Choosing a tower height
Choosing a tower height involves nding a balance between the pros (eg increased energy yield at a higher
height) and the cons (eg increased visual impact of a taller tower, diculty obtaining a planning permit for higher
towers) of tower height.
Economics of taller towers
An estimate of the economics of tower height was provided by an American study undertaken by Mick Sagrillo in
1993 [Ref 9].
This showed that a professionally installed 10 kW wind turbine on a 30 m tower would produce slightly more than
twice the power of the same wind generator at 18 m, for a total system price increase of only 10 per cent. In other
words, two 10 kW wind turbines on 18 m towers will produce about the same amount of power as only one of the
same wind turbines on a 30 m tower, but at nearly twice the cost.
This provides condence that the extra investment in a taller tower will be worthwhile. In considering a taller
tower, you need to be aware of any implications on development approval and consider neighbour amenity. You
also need to check that the person undertaking the maintenance on the turbine will have sucient area adjacent
to the tower to lower it for maintenance.
29
3.7 Choosing an inverter
Your wind turbine product may be supplied as a package with an inverter. If the manufacturer species a particular
inverter required for the wind turbine, it is important to use the recommended inverter.
All inverters connected to the grid in Australia must comply with the relevant Australian Standards, which are
AS4777 and AS3100. Inverters that have been tested to these standards and successfully passed are then accepted
by a State Regulator, for example the Oce of Fair Trading, which issues Certicates of Conformity for the product.
These inverters can then be listed on the Clean Energy Council list of approved inverters, which are eligible for a
government rebate.
For a list of Clean Energy Council approved grid connected inverters, you can refer to the Clean Energy Council
website: www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au. A non CEC-listed inverter may still be used if it has a valid Certicate of
Conformity, without attracting a rebate.
3.8 Estimating electricity generation
The output power from your turbine can be estimated from the turbine
power curve and the site wind data. The output at your site will vary
considerably according to the site wind speed.
For example, if you have measured your site wind speed using an
anemometer, the data records can be converted into energy (kWh) by
multiplying the power generation level with the amount of time that the
wind speed occurs.
Alternatively, the wind turbine product specication or brochure may
provide a chart of annual wind turbine yield vs annual mean wind speed,
which you can use to estimate production at your site.
This type of information has been used to produce Figure 2.1 above, which
you can use as a guide to estimating energy production for dierent sized turbines in dierent average wind
speeds.
3.9 Urban wind turbines
Within urban environments, some sites may be suitable for wind turbines, which can be either mounted on a
building structure or mounted on towers on the ground.
3.9.1 Suitability of urban sites for wind generation
Urban sites that may be considered for wind turbine systems include the rooftops of commercial or industrial
buildings, industrial land and public land adjacent to coastlines.
Wind resources
Suitable wind resources are likely to occur only at high elevations such as rooftops of tall multistorey buildings, or
at sites immediately adjacent to the coast such as median strips along a beach front.
The urban environment by its nature contains many tall obstacles including buildings and trees, which cause a
reduction in wind resource and an increase in turbulence.
30
Studies such as the ATA’s Victorian Urban Wind Resource Assessment
[Ref 10] and Enhar’s wind studies of Port Phillip Bay [Ref 11] have
shown that wind resources within most built up areas are insucient
to make wind energy cost competitive. The best wind resources exist
in areas immediately adjacent to the coast with no obstacles to the
prevailing wind directions. Above tall buildings some reasonable
wind resources can also be found. The rooftop of a tall building
adjacent to the coast is likely to oer the best wind resource within
an urban area.
Rooftop sites, and sites adjacent to large obstacles such as other
buildings, experience high turbulence levels due to the chaotic ow
around the building vertices. Increasing the tower height to raise
the turbine a greater distance above the roof structure, and moving
turbines away from roof edges, is likely to reduce the turbulence
experienced at the turbine location.
Wind monitoring at urban sites
Wind speed measurements should be taken where possible at any urban sites proposed for wind turbines, using
a system capable of recording turbulence intensity. Reference 3 provides detailed description of methodology for
use of a sonic anemometer for urban wind measurements.
Telescopic poles normally used for TV antennas are ideal for wind monitoring up to 15 m, and your local TV
antenna installers should be able to provide an installation service, ideally under the supervision of a wind
consultant or a CEC-endorsed wind installer.
Structural suitability
For building-mounted wind turbines, the addition of the turbine and its
support structure to the building may have a signicant eect on the
building. A wind turbine system will generally add signicant weight to the
roof and possibly cause vibration through the turbine tower, which may be
transmitted into the building.
As all buildings are designed and constructed to meet wind loading
standards, the addition of a wind-sensitive structure such as a wind
turbine onto the building must be done very carefully. In general, if you are
considering an urban site you should ensure that:
you have conrmed a suitable wind resource (eg through monitoring
winds at the site)
the structural suitability of the building has been conrmed by a structural
engineer
suitable turbine technology is available to t your site
your budget is sucient for turbine installation including any structural works
you are able to meet any planning permit requirements
you are able to meet any building permit requirements.
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3.9.2 Urban wind turbine technology
Turbine types you can consider for urban application include vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). Vertical axis
turbines are often preferred for urban application. The reasons for this include perceived aesthetic advantages, low
noise levels and improved performance in turbulent ows.
Some specially designed horizontal axis turbines can also oer some of these advantages. Examples of both types
of turbine are shown below. Turbine specications including turbines designed for urban use are provided in
Appendix B.
Figure 3.5: Examples of urban wind turbine systems
3.10 Finance and economics of your wind turbine system
This section discusses the budgeting process and how to nd out how much you will need to spend, as well as
how much you can expect to earn, from a small wind turbine system.
The values used for taris and rebates are accurate at the time of publication; however, readers are reminded that
these are subject to change and that you should ensure you have up-to-date information.
3.10.1 Wind turbine system costs
There is a large variation in wind turbine prices depending on tower size, installation location and so on.
Keeping in mind the variables mentioned above, the table below shows an approximate guide on price ranges for
grid connected wind systems (as of November 2010). Government rebates can be deducted from these gures.
32
Some indicative capital costs based on recent case studies in NSW are outlined below.
Quotation
Before committing to purchasing a turbine, you should obtain a comprehensive complete quote from an installer.
The quotation should provide specications, quantity, size, capacity and output for the major components,
including:
• wind turbine generator
• tower and foundations
• inverter
• trench digging and cable laying
• any additional metering or data-logging
• travel and transport requirements
• other equipment needed
• a system user manual.
The quotation should also specify a total price, together with proposed start and completion dates. The quotation
should form a basis for your contract with the designer/installer. In addition, a contract for the supply and
installation of the wind power system should be included with the quotation.
The contract should include:
• an estimate of the average annual electricity output (in kWh)
• the estimated production in the best and worst months
• the responsibilities of each party
• warranties and guarantees, including installer workmanship
• a schedule of deposit and progress payments.
3.10.2 Renewable Energy Certicates for small wind turbines
What are Renewable Energy Certicates (RECs)?
A Renewable Energy Certicate (REC) represents one megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable electricity. This system
of tradeable credits has been created by the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. These certicates belong to
the owner of the wind turbine, however to save you the work of trading the RECs yourself, registered agents are
able to buy these certicates from you. Wind turbine installers are often registered agents.
In June 2010, the Federal Government announced amendments to the RET scheme. As part of these changes, the
scheme will be split into two parts:
1. The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), which covers small-scale technologies such as solar panels
and solar hot water systems
2. The Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET), which covers large-scale renewable energy projects like
wind farms, commercial solar etc.
System size System type Estimated price range
1kW Horizontal axis wind turbine on a 15-20 m tilt-up pole $20-30,000
2-3kW Horizontal axis wind turbine on a 10-15 m monopole $30-$40,000
5kW Horizontal axis wind turbine on a 20-30 m tilt-up pole $40-$60,000
10kW Horizontal axis wind turbine system on a 20 m monopole $65-$75,000
1-2kW Roof mounted horizontal axis wind turbine system $15-$25,000
5-6kW Roof mounted vertical axis wind turbine system $50-60,000
33
The SRES provides a xed price of $40 (less brokerage fees) per REC, eective from 1 January 2011. Under this
legislation, the Minister has the capacity to reduce this $40 price in the future.
Small wind systems will be covered by the SRES and as such, will attract Small-scale Technology Certicates (STCs)
rather than RECs.
What is the Solar Credit Scheme?
Solar Credits is a mechanism under the expanded Renewable Energy Target (RET), which multiplies the number of
Renewable Energy Certicates able to be created for eligible installations of Small Generating Units that are less
than 10 kW, have a total annual electricity output less than 25 MWh and are installed after 1 April 2001.
The multiplier reduces over time; see Ref 12 for the latest information on what multiplier will apply at the date of
your installation.
How many RECs will my system earn?
The Oce of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER) publishes a ‘Small Generators Owners Guide’, which
describes how to calculate how many RECs your system will earn [Ref 12]. This is updated from time-to-time to
reect any changes in the regulations.
The ORER website provides a handy online calculator (www.recregistry.gov.au/sguCalculatorInit.shtml), which
lets you know how many RECs your system will earn. CEC wind-endorsed installers can also advise you on REC
considerations.
What price will my RECs be sold for?
The price at which you can sell your RECs will depend on the prices oered by registered agents, and is linked to
the price set by the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. The ORER website provides a link to the current list of
registered agents. If your installer is also a registered agent, they will advise you on REC prices.
Figure 3.6: Illustration of REC income earnings from small wind turbine installations (15 year lifetime)
34
Rated power is the ‘nameplate’ power of the turbine, a number expressed in kW and normally printed on the
turbine product documentation, as well as on its label and packaging. Dierent turbines have dierent rated wind
speeds, however a common rated wind speed is 11 m/s.
The REC earnings usually actually occur in separate instalments, the rst is at the time of installation, the second
after ve years, and the third and nal instalment after 10 years. Although solar PV installations are permitted to
claim RECs upfront for a ‘deeming’ period of 15 years, wind systems currently are eligible for a maximum upfront
deeming period of ve years. However, the good news is that over the project lifetime, if you do claim RECs at the
ve and 10 year point, you can expect to earn more RECs overall than the equivalent rated solar PV system. You can
also opt to earn your RECs annually.
With REC prices as of November 2010 and under the Solar Credits Multiplier Scheme, customers can expect to earn
between approximately 5-25% of the total price of the wind installation during a 1-5 year life turbine lifetime.
The following table assumes a steady price of $40/REC (this may vary), ve year deeming periods and Solar Credit
multiplier values current in 2010.
Table 3.2: REC earnings from small wind turbines with current solar credit multiplier (as of November 2010)
If you have a very strong wind resource you can claim a higher resource availability by submitting evidence such
as monitored turbine yield data (eg from the inverter of an existing wind turbine, or recorded wind data from
an anemometer in advance of installing the turbine). Your evidence for a higher resource availability may be
submitted by a specialist consultant. The evidence should demonstrate that the turbine does or will generate an
annual total that is equivalent to its rated output for more than the default ‘resource availability of 2,000 hours per
year’.
Options for gaining nancial benets from RECs:
• Option 1: AGENT ASSIGNED – assign your RECs to an agent in exchange for nancial benet, which would
be delayed cash payment or upfront discount on your small generation units (SGUs). Most owners take this
option. Your installer can assist as an agent – you can sell your RECs to them in exchange for an up-front
refund. You may expect to pay approximately 10 per cent commission to the agent for this service (ie you will
receive the value of the RECs less 10 per cent of the total REC price).
• Option 2: INDIVIDUAL TRADING – become an individual trader. Find a buyer then sell and transfer RECs in the
REC registry. Your income from RECs will usually occur later than under Option 1, and Option 2 can be more
time
consuming.
O-grid wind systems are no longer eligible for rebates under the Renewable Remote Power Generation
Programme, as this funding programme has ended.
Rated
capacity
RECs $ earnings
[kW] year 1 year 5 year 10 year 1 year 5 year 10 Total
1 48 10 10 $ 1,920 $ 400 $ 400 $ 2,720
2 76 19 19 $ 3,040 $ 760 $ 760 $ 4,560
3 85 29 29 $ 3,040 $ 1,160 $ 1,160 $ 5,360
4 95 38 38 $ 3,800 $ 1,520 $ 1,520 $ 6,840
5 104 48 48 $ 4,160 $ 1,920 $ 1,920 $ 8,000
6 114 57 57 $ 4,560 $ 2,280 $ 2,280 $ 9,120
7 123 67 67 $ 4,920 $ 2,680 $ 2,680 $10,280
8 133 76 76 $ 5,320 $ 3,040 $ 3,040 $11,400
9 142 86 86 $ 5,680 $ 3,440 $ 3,440 $12,560
10 152 95 95 $ 6,080 $ 3,800 $ 3,800 $13,680
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3.10.3 NSW Solar Bonus feed-in tari
Under the Solar Bonus Scheme, households received a gross feed-in tari for electricity produced by small-scale
solar and wind systems (less than 10 kilowatts). Through this scheme, around 365 megawatts (MW) of renewable
energy installed by NSW households will be connected to the grid. NSW has the largest amount of installed small
scale renewable generation of any jurisdiction in Australia.
The Solar Bonus Scheme is now closed to new entrants. The NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional
Infrastructure and Services provides detailed guidance on the Solar Bonus Scheme, including a ‘frequently asked
questions’ page on its website. See http://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/energy/sustainable/renewable/solar/solar-
scheme/faq.
Finding an electricity retailer in NSW
You can visit the website of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) –
www.myenergyoers.nsw.gov.au – to compare retail electricity oers in NSW to help you choose a retailer.
What will I earn if I want to install a wind turbine larger than 10kW?
Renewable power systems larger than 10 kW can apply for a ‘one-for-one’ feed-in tari from the electricity retailer.
Wind turbines larger than 10 kW are not eligible for the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) multiplier under the
Federal Solar Credits scheme, however if the turbine can become a registered renewable generator, it will still
be eligible for earning RECs at a standard rate. This may be most feasible through the participation of a licensed
electricity retailer such as Diamond Energy.
Will my income under the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme aect my tax?
You should speak to the Australian Tax Oce or your accountant for advice on whether your Solar Bonus Scheme
payments are taxable in your particular circumstances.
Your energy company, even it makes payments to you under the Scheme, may not be able to advise you on tax
implications.
3.10.4 Net vs gross metering for a wind turbines in NSW
There are two metering options for customers: net or gross.
Both of these metering options are described in Section 5.4 later in this guide.
3.10.5 Economic analysis of small wind turbine systems
Payback periods for small wind turbines are site-specic and depend on several factors including wind speed,
capital cost and electricity taris.
You may wish to undertake economic analysis to understand how quickly a small wind turbine generation unit will
pay for itself.
To do this, you need to understand both the costs and the income associated with the investment.
In terms of costs, once your feasibility and wind resource assessment stages are complete, the
capital cost of your project is made up of:
• services for obtaining any required permits
36
• wind turbine supply and installation
• foundation construction
• meter installation and commissioning
• maintenance contract.
Once installed, your wind turbine will provide the following income and savings:
• income under the NSW feed in tari arrangements (see Section 3.10.3 above)
• earnings from RECs (see 3.10.2 above)
• savings on your electricity bill if you have a net metering arrangement (see Section 5.4 below). If electricity
prices rise, the value of these savings will also rise.
You may also be eligible for tax depreciation benets in relation to your wind turbine.
To calculate the payback of the system, the annual nancial balance of the investment should be calculated.
Imagine the project has its own bank account with its own cashow. To begin with, a large sum is taken out of the
‘account’ to buy and install the wind turbine; this means the account starts with an ‘overdraft’ to pay o. As time
goes by, the project earns money through the feed in tari and REC earnings; this income gradually brings the
project into credit.
During the project lifetime, the ‘balance’ of the project account becomes positive – at this stage the project has
earned you more than it has cost. The time-span for the project to reach positive cashow is referred to as the
‘payback period’, with shorter payback periods being more attractive. Opinions on what constitutes an attractive
payback period are subjective and dier according to the product under consideration. For example, you may
consider a longer payback period to be acceptable if your investment is also delivering added environmental
benets.
The cashow should remain positive once the payback has been achieved and during the project lifetime the
project should earn signicantly more money than it spends.
An illustration of cashow results for a 3 kW and 10 kW wind project is shown in Table 3.3 below.
Energy yield data and capital price estimates are based on real wind turbine products. Income is based on REC
prices and feed in taris levels and assumes a net metering arrangement (as of November 2010). However,
the numerous variables used in such calculations vary on a case by case basis, therefore the gures are strictly
indicative only. In addition to variations arising from site specic costs and income, the income from REC and feed-
in taris are subject to change throughout the state.
Therefore, the values here are indicative as of November 2010 only. The assumptions include 20c/kWh feed in tari
until 2016 and a one-for-one feed in tari from the retailer after 2016 for the lifetime of the turbine, and annual
electricity price increases in line with IPART projections to 2013 and 10 per cent per year thereafter.
Table 3.3: Indicative economics of wind turbine systems
Turbine type
Initial balance (cost
of investment)
before RECs
Payback period Final balance at 20 years
7 m/s average
wind speed
5 m/s average
wind speed
7 m/s average
wind speed
5 m/s average
wind speed
3 kW horizontal
axis on monopole
-$30,000 to -$40,000
Approx
7-10 years
Approx
10-13 years
+$60,000 to
+85,000
+$20,000 to
+$40,000
10 kW horizontal
axis on monopole
-$60,000 to -$70,000
Approx
6-9 years
Approx
11-14 years
+$150,000 to
+250,000
+$50,000 to
+100,000
37
How to work out your nancial benet:
If you are provided with an estimate of the nancial benets of a wind system, you should check:
• what electricity tari you are on at present
• whether there are any expected changes to your future electricity prices (consult IPART
publications)
• what mean wind speed is expected at your site
• what power output is expected from your turbine
• what metering arrangement will best suit your needs and how that will aect the income from your
wind system.
In terms of comparing the economic returns of dierent sized wind turbines, the larger 10 kW wind turbine system
has superior economics to the 3 kW wind turbine system at stronger wind speeds – above approximately 5.5m/s.
This demonstrates the general phenomenon that wind energy systems in areas with a strong wind resource are
more competitive at larger scales. At moderate to low wind speed sites (eg 5 m/s), smaller wind systems can
achieve equal or better payback periods than large ones due to the lower capital costs for smaller turbines.
Tax depreciation benets
Some installers provide estimates of tax depreciation benets, which can be earned by certain owners of small
wind turbines. Tax depreciation benets have not been included in the economic analysis above. You may wish to
contact the Australian Tax Oce or your accountant to discuss any tax depreciation opportunities associated with
owning a small wind turbine.
Maintenance costs
The maintenance of wind turbine systems is important, due to the number of moving parts associated with a wind
turbine. You should enquire whether your turbine purchase includes maintenance for a specic period, or whether
an ongoing maintenance contract can be provided in addition to the installation contract.
Time of use metering
Certain electricity providers already oer time-of-use taris and others expect to oer these taris in the future.
Certain meter technology is required for these taris to be available.
Consumers should be aware that switching to time-of-use may cause their energy bill to rise if the new time-of-
use tari is higher than the previous o-peak taris.
The alternative is no time-of-use, where you are charged at a at rate regardless of the time of use.
Under a time-of-use tari, if your net-metered wind turbine system generally outputs more power during peak
times, you could earn more savings from your system. These savings are also termed ‘avoided cost of power’.
Conversely, if your system outputs less during peak times you would earn less savings from your system.
If time-of-use metering and taris are available to you, the process of determining if you would benet under
time-of-use is quite complex. Ideally, you would monitor your wind speeds and also your power consumption
using a monitoring tool such as the ENVI from www.smartnow.com.au. This would allow you to see how well your
wind resource matches peak usage times. This involves some fairly complex calculations and you might prefer to
engage a consultant or a CEC endorsed installer to do this monitoring for you.
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This chapter provides guidance as to whether you are likely to need planning approval for your wind turbine
proposal.
Depending on the small wind turbine system, a planning approval may not be required or be considered
‘complying development’. In other cases, development consent may be required from the relevant local council.
4.1 What planning approvals are required?
The planning approval process and requirements for a small wind turbine development or wind monitoring tower
may be specied in a council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and/or a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP).
The LEPs and SEPPs outline what type of development is permissible in land use zones and whether development
consent is required.
State-wide planning provisions are in place in SEPP (Infrastructure) 2007 (the Infrastructure SEPP) to make it easier
to install certain small wind turbine systems while protecting neighbourhood amenity. A ‘small wind turbine’
is dened in Clause 33 of the Infrastructure SEPP as ‘a wind turbine that has a generating capacity of no more
than 100 kW’. ‘Small wind turbine system’ is dened in Clause 33 as ‘a system comprising one or more small wind
turbines each of which feed into the same grid or battery bank’.
Subject to meeting the standards prescribed in the Infrastructure SEPP, it is expected that the majority of small
wind turbines may be installed in rural areas as ‘exempt development’ and a planning approval will not be
required. Subject to the standards, wind monitoring towers may also be installed as exempt development across a
range of land-use zones.
In other situations, including rural, residential, business, industrial, special purpose, recreation and environment
protection areas and subject to meeting standards in the Infrastructure SEPP, a complying development certicate
can be obtained in around 10 days from a council certier or a third party accredited private certier.
In those cases where Infrastructure SEPP standards for exempt and complying development are not met, a
traditional development application (DA) may be required to be lodged with the relevant consent authority,
usually a local council.
Key considerations for each planning approval type are summarised below. The summary should be read in
conjunction with the detailed provisions in the Infrastructure SEPP, which is available on the renewable energy
section of DoP&I’s website (www.planning.nsw.gov.au) or the NSW legislation website (www.legislation.nsw.gov.
au). Alternatively, contact DoP&I’s Information Centre on (02) 9228 6333 or inf[email protected].gov.au, or
your local council for more information.
4.2 Exempt development
To determine whether a ground-mounted small wind turbine system does not require a development approval,
it must comply with the exempt development provisions contained in the Infrastructure SEPP. If the small wind
system is considered exempt development, it can be installed without any development approvals.
Key requirements in the Infrastructure SEPP (Clause 39) to be exempt development are summarised on the
following page. As previously noted, proponents should refer to the Infrastructure SEPP for a complete list of
requirements.
Chapter 4. Planning approvals
39
Table 4.1: Summary of key exempt development requirements in the Infrastructure SEPP
1. Zoning
(a) Each turbine is installed on land in a ‘prescribed rural zone’ (note: a ‘prescribed rural zone’
means the following land use zones: RU1 Primary Production, RU2 Rural Landscape, RU3 Forestry, RU4
Primary Production Small Lot or a council zone equivalent to these zones. A list of equivalent zones
can be found on the NSW Housing Code website at http://housingcode.planning.nsw.gov.au)
2. Design
(a) Each turbine is ground-mounted and has a combined generating capacity of no more than
100kW, and
3. Height
(c) Each turbine has a height of not more than 35m from ground level (existing), and
4. Setback
(d) Each turbine is installed no less than 200m from any dwelling that is not owned or occupied
by the owner of the system, and
5. Number of turbines
(e) The development will result in no more than two small wind turbines being situated on the
lot concerned, and
6. Vegetation
(f) The development does not involve the removal or pruning of a tree or other vegetation that
requires a permit or development consent for removal or pruning, unless that removal or pruning is
undertaken in accordance with a permit or development consent
7. Heritage
(g) If the land contains a State or local heritage item or is in a heritage conservation area – the
system is not visible from any road at the point where the road adjoins the property boundary
concerned.
(Note: local heritage items and heritage conservation areas are typically shown in the relevant council’s LEP on the
council’s website. State heritage items are listed in the State Heritage Register at www.heritage.nsw.gov.au).
Exempt development provisions for wind monitoring towers associated with small wind turbine systems, that
have a generating capacity of no more than 1 MW, are specied in Clause 39(1A) of the Infrastructure SEPP.
4.3 Complying development
A proposed small wind turbine system may be complying development in accordance with the provisions set out
in the Infrastructure SEPP. Complying development provisions relate to ground-mounted and building-mounted
small wind turbine systems with a generating capacity of no more than 10kW in prescribed residential zones
or 100kW in other zones. These provisions for ground-mounted and building-mounted systems are specied
in Clause 37 of the Infrastructure SEPP. The key requirements from Clause 37 for ground-mounted systems are
summarised below. Please refer to the Infrastructure SEPP for building-mounted provisions.
A complying development certicate can be obtained from a council certier or an accredited private certier,
typically in around 10 days. The certier is responsible for checking that the proposed system complies with the
complying development provisions and if so, issuing a complying development certicate. Further information on
accredited certiers is on the Building Professionals Board website at www.bpb.nsw.gov.au.
40
Table 4.2: Summary of key complying development requirements for ground-mounted systems in the
Infrastructure SEPP
1. General
(a) It is not exempt development
2. Setbacks
(b) Each turbine is setback a distance specied in the Infrastructure SEPP from the nearest
neighbour’s house based on the turbine’s ‘source sound power level’
(Note: the distances specied in the Infrastructure SEPP range between 25m and 200m)
(c) Where the turbine’s source sound power level is not known, each turbine is setback at least
200m from the nearest neighbour’s house
(d) The source sound power level value used to derive setback distances above is measured
at a wind speed of no less than eight metres per second and measured in accordance with the
International Standard IEC 61400—11 Noise Measurement
3. If in a ‘prescribed residential zone’
(e) If in a ‘prescribed residential zone’ (R1 General Residential, R2 Low Density Residential, R3
Medium Density Residential, R4 High Density Residential, R5 Large Lot Residential, RU5 Village):
(i) it is ground-mounted and has a generating capacity of 10kW or less, and
(ii) no more than one small wind turbine situated on the lot concerned, and
(iii) the turbine has a height of not more than 18m above ground level (existing), and
(iv) it is not installed forward of any existing building line on the lot that faces a primary road, or
Note: a ‘primary road’ is dened in Clause 5 of the Infrastructure SEPP as meaning ‘the road to which the front of a
dwelling house, or a main building, on a lot faces or is proposed to face’
4. If in a ‘prescribed rural, industrial or special use zone’
(f) In a ‘prescribed rural, industrial or special use zone’ (RU1 Primary Production, RU2 Rural
Landscape, RU3 Forestry, RU4 Rural Small Holdings, IN1 General Industrial, IN2 Light Industrial, IN3
Heavy Industrial, IN4 Working Waterfront, SP1 Special Activities, SP2 Infrastructure):
(i) it is ground-mounted and has a generating capacity no more than 100kW, and
(ii) it will result in no more than three small wind turbines being situated on the lot concerned,
and
(iii) each turbine has a height of not more than 35m above ground level (existing), or
5. If in ‘any other zone’
(g) If in any other zone, and
(i) it is ground-mounted and has a generating capacity of 100kW or less, and
(ii) the development will result in no more than two small wind turbines being situated on the
lot concerned, and
(iii) each turbine has a height of not more than 26m above ground level (existing), and
6. Heritage
(h) It is not on land that comprises, or on which there is, an item of environmental heritage
(that is listed on the State Heritage Register or that is subject to an interim heritage order under the
Heritage Act 1977), and
(i) It is not on land in a heritage conservation area
(Note: heritage conservation areas are typically shown in the relevant council’s LEP on the council’s website)
7. Environmentally sensitive areas
(j) It is not located on land identied as an environmentally sensitive area
(Note: environmentally sensitive areas may be identied in the relevant council’s LEP. The provisions in the Infrastructure
SEPP relevant to small wind turbine systems do not identify any environmentally sensitive areas).
8. Vegetation
(k) It does not involve the removal or pruning of a tree or other vegetation that requires a permit
or development consent for removal or pruning, unless that removal or pruning is undertaken in
accordance with a permit or development consent.
41
4.4 Development permitted with consent
If a proposed small wind turbine system is not exempt or complying development, it may be ‘development
permitted with consent’ under the Infrastructure SEPP or the relevant council’s LEP.
Where a small wind turbine system is development permitted with consent, a development application is required
to be lodged with the relevant consent authority (usually the relevant local council for determination). The
consent authority usually noties the neighbourhood and may advertise the application. The consent authority
may decide to approve an application, usually subject to conditions, or may refuse the application.
Development permitted with consent provisions for small wind turbine systems, which have a generating capacity
of no more than 100kW, are specied in Clauses 34(5)–(6) of the Infrastructure SEPP, and are summarised below.
Table 4.3: Key permitted with consent requirements under the Infrastructure SEPP for small wind turbine
systems (generating no more than 100kW)
(a) development for the purpose of a small wind turbine system may be carried out by any
person with consent on any land, however
(b) where the system is in a ‘prescribed residential zone’ the system must have a generating
capacity of less than 10kW and be less than 18m in height.
Note: a prescribed residential zone is dened in Clause 33 of the Infrastructure SEPP as comprising R1 General
Residential, R2 Low Density Residential, R3 Medium Density Residential, R4 High Density Residential, R5 Large Lot
Residential, and RU5 Village
Note: a ‘small wind turbine’ is dened in Clause 33 of the Infrastructure SEPP as having a generating capacity of no more
than 100kW.
Additional information on planning approval processes is available on the renewable energy section of the NSW
DoP&I’s website (www.planning.nsw.gov.au).
For small wind turbine systems which generate more than 100kW the relevant council should be contacted in
relation to their specic planning controls.
42
In this chapter you will learn:
how to nd a qualied installer to assist you
what steps are involved in connecting a small wind turbine to the grid
about how to obtain assurances of the structural safety of the installation
about net and gross metering arrangements.
5.1 The qualications of your small wind turbine installer
To have your wind turbine installed, you will need a competent installer to undertake the job. This section
describes what training a wind installer should have and how you can nd a suitable installer.
The Clean Energy Council (CEC), formerly the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, runs the endorsement
scheme for installers of small renewable energy systems including wind turbines.
Regulations in the Enhanced Renewable Energy Target Legislation have been amended to ensure that after
December 2010, wind turbine small generation units (SGUs) are designed and installed by persons who are
endorsed for wind systems under the CEC accreditation scheme.
To obtain renewable energy credits for your wind turbine system, you must select an electrician who is an
accredited wind turbine installer (ie an accredited solar photovoltaic installer who has completed certain wind
turbine training or an electrician who is experienced and competent in installing wind turbines).
As well as allowing you to earn RECs for your system, using installers who comply with these regulations ensures
that certain safety criteria are met and, in general, you can expect professional standards throughout the job.
For example, for a small wind system installed in an on-grid location, the installer must be accredited for grid-
connected installations of solar PV systems and this accreditation must also be endorsed by the CEC (after
completion of CEC’s required training) for small wind systems.
The regulations state that the wiring associated with the installation of any small generator unit is to be
undertaken by an electrician with a valid, unrestricted licence for undertaking electrical work in NSW. The
installation team will therefore include a qualied A grade electrician.
More information in regards to choosing a licensed installer and the important safety aspects associated with
the installation of renewable energy systems can be found on the ‘Green Energy Installations’ section of the NSW
Oce of Fair Trading website at: www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
How do I nd an accredited installer?
You may like to rst consider which type of turbine you are interested in, using the database in Appendix B.
By contacting the turbine providers, or their approved resellers, you can nd out who is able to install the turbine
for you.
You can also refer to the list of installers in Appendix B or consult the list of wind endorsed solar photovoltaic
installers on the Clean Energy Council website, which is updated regularly: www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au
Chapter 5. Installation
43
5.2 Grid connection of your wind turbine
In NSW, there are currently three electricity distribution companies. The areas covered by each distribution
company are shown below.
Figure 5.1: Electricity distribution areas in NSW and ACT [Source: Ref 20]
Contact details for each company are as follows:
Essential Energy, servicing rural NSW Tel 132 391
Endeavour Energy, servicing western and
southern Sydney
Tel 131 081
AusGrid, servicing northern Sydney Tel 131 535
For grid connected wind turbine systems, the grid connection must follow proper procedures.
The Clean Energy Council publishes owcharts for connecting small scale renewable energy generators to the
electricity grid [Ref 19]. These have been checked with individual NSW electricity providers and the resulting
recommended procedures are shown on the following page.
44
Table 5.1: Grid connection process for small wind turbines
Step ENDEAVOUR ENERGY ESSENTIAL ENERGY
1 Customer to do own research Customer to do own research
2 Customer to contact CEC accredited installer Customer to contact CEC accredited
installer
3 Customer/installer to contact electricity
distributor to determine connection
requirements to the grid and obtain
application form/process information
Customer/installer to contact electricity
distributor to determine connection
requirements to the grid and obtain
application form/process information
4 Installer to complete Application to Connect
and submit to electricity distributor
Installer to complete Application to Connect
and submit to electricity distributor
5 Electricity distributor to issue Approval to
Connect to installer/customer
Electricity distributor to issue Approval to
Connect to installer/customer
6 Wind turbine system is installed Wind turbine system is installed
7 Installer/Level 2 accredited service provider
(ASP) to complete electrical inspection
Electrical contractor to complete AC wiring
from inverter to meter board
8 ASP to install metering Electrical contractor to complete electrical
inspection and then submit a certicate
of electrical work (CCEW) to the electrical
distributor
9 ASP completes a Notication of Service Work
Form (NOSW) and Certicate of Compliance
and submits to electricity distributor
ASP to install metering
10 Wind turbine system is connected to the grid ASP completes a notication of service work
form (NOSW) and submits to the
electricity distributor
11 Wind turbine system is connected to the grid
12 Apply for any applicable Renewable Energy
Certicates/Solar Credits
Apply for any applicable Renewable Energy
Certicates/Solar Credits
13 Electricity retailer will make the necessary
changes to the customer’s account.
At the time of publication, AusGrid had not provided an equivalent checklist. Related guidance is however
provided on the AusGrid website.
Approved inverter
The inverter equipment used must be shown to meet Australian Standard AS4777 and also AS3100.
The Clean Energy Council publishes a list of approved grid connect inverter products that have been conrmed
to be compliant with relevant standards and are thereby also eligible for Solar Credit and REC creation. This is
important when it comes to applying for your REC rebate. To earn RECs, your wind turbine inverter should be listed
on the latest version of the Clean Energy Council list of approved inverters. In all situations, your installer should
have the relevant certicates of conformity demonstrating compliance with Australian Standards AS4777 and
AS3100.
Meter
You should consult with your installer and your electricity company as to which type of meter will suit your needs
and meet the requirements of any feed in tari system as well as the expectations of your electricity distributor.
There can be issues around metering and electricity bill charges for renewable energy system owners. It is possible
that the meter could be misread, or the data interpreted incorrectly, and you could be charged incorrectly.
45
Section 5.4 below deals with metering options in more depth.
Signed agreement
You need to select a retailer, obtain information from retailers on the electricity taris available for the sale of
electricity generated and conrm the tari you will receive. Your retailer should then send you an agreement to
sign. Once your system is installed, you can sign the agreement sent by your chosen retailer for energy sold and
purchased and send this back to your retailer.
Approved electrician to install to the grid
Your grid connection must be performed by a suitably qualied electrician (see Table 5.1 above) who should
be able to provide evidence of suitable qualications. Please also refer to Section 5.1 above relating to the
accreditation of small wind installers. The grid connected system once installed should be inspected by an
electrical inspector.
For o grid installations, dierent requirements apply; please refer to the booklet ‘Wind Power – Plan your own
wind power system’ [Ref 4].
5.3 Mounting and structural safety
Whether it is a ground mounted tower or a rooftop mounted system, your wind turbine tower structure will be a
signicant long term installation. It is important to ensure that your installer provides evidence of structural safety.
This includes evidence that the mounting, tower and foundation have been designed to withstand suitable wind
loading and that it has been properly manufactured according to the design. Also important is conrmation that
the installation meets the design requirements.
The relevant Australian Standards include AS 1170.2 (Wind Loading).
If a construction certicate is required, a qualied structural engineer may be engaged by your installer to approve
the safety of the tower structure. A registered builder may also be involved to oversee the installation of the
foundation and the erection of the tower.
5.4 Gross/net metering
How does gross metering work?
Gross metering generally involves a second meter being installed which records how much power is generated
out of your wind turbine system. We can refer to this as your ‘output meter’. This is called a gross metering
arrangement, because it measures the ‘gross’ power generated by your wind turbine before any of your
consumption is taken into account. Have another look at Figure 1.1 above to get an idea of how the meters t
within the overall system.
46
The following schematic diagram shows a gross metering system:
Figure 5.2: Schematic of a gross metering system
[Acknowledgement: www.gogreenenviro.com.au]
After your gross meter is installed, you will have two meters, as shown in the photograph below. Your electricity
distribution company will read both meters to calculate your electricity bills and credits.
One meter records all the output of the wind turbine – all this output goes into the grid and you are paid for it. The
other meter records all power imported and used at your property – you are charged for all of this. You will be paid
an equal rate for the power coming out of your turbine whenever it is generated. You can therefore be assured that
when your turbine is generating you are earning an income from it.
Figure 5.3: Photograph of gross meter arrangement [courtesy of Rewind Energy]
You will not normally be charged for new meter equipment – your energy provider will supply that – but you will
normally have to pay for the labour costs of having a gross meter installed at your property. This could be in the
order of $400–$500, and should be a relatively quick job for a qualied electrician – a level 2 accredited service
provider (ASP) – to complete. Customers should contact an ASP who will order a new gross or net meter from your
energy provider and arrange for it to be installed. A list of ASPs is available from the NSW Oce of Fair Trading and
can be found on its website at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au. The costs associated with the installation of the meter
are the responsibility of the customer and should be discussed on an individual basis with your chosen ASP.
Costs may vary depending on your existing metering equipment, switchboard location, standard of previous
electrical work, etc, and may be aected by issues such as whether your existing meter can be reprogrammed or
whether it needs to be removed and two fresh meters installed. Other physical factors such ease of access to your
meters and whether there is sucient space for the additional meter may aect the length of job and the price
that you pay.
47
What about net metering?
You can also opt to have a net metering arrangement, as shown in Figure 5.4, whereby you receive payment only
for the surplus that you export to the grid.
Figure 5.4: Schematic of a net metering system [Acknowledgement: www.gogreenenviro.com.au]
The benet of a net metering system is that your own generation can directly supply your own property’s power
needs. This means that at times when your wind turbine is generating power, it will be partly or completely
osetting your own power consumption. At these times, you do not need to import any power from the grid
and you are not charged for using your own power. This diers to a gross metering system, where you are always
charged for consuming power on your property even if you are generating power at the same time.
When to go for net metering
In simple terms, a net system is economically favourable to you if your electricity retail rate is higher than a feed-
in tari rate. For example, if a feed-in tari is oering you 25c/kWh but you expect to start paying 30c/kWh in the
near future for electricity from your retailer, then you should opt for net metering as this will oset your higher
electricity costs.
If you are opting for ‘time-of-use’ tari with your retailer, then it is possible that at certain times of day, you will be
paying more than the oered feed-in- tari for purchasing power. Since the wind regime at your site is likely to
cause your turbine to generate a proportion of its power during peak times, in these circumstances it would be
advantageous to use a net metering arrangement. By using this approach, your savings from the avoided cost of
purchasing electricity in peak times may be greater than earnings from the oered feed-in tari available through
gross metering.
When to go for gross metering
Again, in simple terms, if you are currently paying less for electricity from your retailer than a feed-in tari and
expect to continue paying less than the tari for some years into the future, it may be economically preferable to
start on a gross metering arrangement then switch to net at a later date. Switching to a net metering system will
be economical when your power costs exceed your feed-in tari. Bear in mind that there will be costs associated
with switching your metering arrangement, including engaging a Level 2 service provider (you should budget
$400-$500 for this), and your DNSP may charge you for a second set of meter equipment (budget $100-$200 for
this).
Where can I get further information on metering?
Because there are so many factors aecting the lifetime economics of a small wind system in NSW, including the
rate of rising power costs, electricity tari arrangements and available meter types, you should consult an expert
such as a CEC-endorsed wind installer for advice.
Case Studies
50
51
Chapter 6. Case studies
This chapter contains case studies of small wind turbine projects currently operating in NSW.
Three approaches have been used to collect these case studies.
Firstly, fact sheet templates drafted by DoP&I were provided to wind turbine installers and completed by the
installers. Completed fact sheets for the Crookwell 10 kW and Randwick 2.4 kW systems have been kindly provided
to Enhar by DoP&I, and are reproduced below.
Secondly, Enhar visited several sites and discussed the turbines with the owners where possible. The Breamlea
60 kW turbine was selected as a turbine of a size relevant to community group projects, and this case study is
reproduced below. Enhar also visited sites in Coolangatta, and the Mountain Ridge Winery case study is included
below. Enhar also visited the Randwick site and provided supplemental information to the fact sheet below.
Thirdly, questionnaires were issued via the NSW Renewable Energy Precinct coordinators for turbine owners to
complete. The Belgravia North case study of a 10kW system owned by the Haynes is provided below, providing
valuable consumer perspectives.
52
Case Study 1: Randwick Council Community Centre – 2.4 KW turbine
Randwick Council installed this turbine at its
community centre in August 2010 to provide electricity
for the Randwick Community Centre, educate the
community about renewable energy alternatives,
and provide a tangible statement of the council’s
commitment to reducing its carbon emissions. The time
from down payment to commissioning was 1-2 months.
SITE
Location: Randwick Community Centre, Sydney
Average wind speed on site: Estimate 4.8 m/s at tower
hub height (13.7 m)
Source of wind speed estimates: Bureau of
Meteorology (BoM) weather stations and Sydney
Airport wind speed data
Turbine is connected to: Council-owned community
centre
Planning approvals: Development consent obtained
under council planning provisions
Grid connection authority: AusGrid
Courtesy of edenPOWER Pty Ltd (1300 398 766)
Reproduced with the permission of the NSW
DoP&I.
TURBINE
Contractor/installer: edenPOWER Pty Ltd
Designer and manufacturer: South West Wind Power
(Arizona USA)
Components: Skystream 3.7 turbine with integrated 2.4
KW inverter
Tower: 13.7 m high tilt-up/hinged monopole
Electrical specications: 2.4 kW maximum power (at 14
m/s wind speed), single-phase grid connect
Mechanical specications: 3.7 m rotor diameter, three
blades, xed pitch breglass reinforced epoxy blades,
passive tracking
System integration: connected at 240 AC single phase/
gross/net feed-in meter
System monitoring: Integrated Zigbee data logger, PC
software supplied
BENEFITS
Projected production: 3,200 kWh/yr (at 4.8 m/s wind
speed on 13.7 m high tower)
Income from Renewable Energy Certicates: $2,600
over 20 years (assuming $40 REC price and 3.2 MWh
annual power generation)
Total costs of equipment, labour, permits: $30,000–
$45,000 including GST
Greenhouse savings: 3.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent each year (70,000 ‘black balloons’)
Enhar visited this site on 16 November 2010 in the
company of Randwick Council’s Sustainability
Manager to learn more about the project. The turbine
was installed on 14 September 2010 and has been
operational since then. Since its installation, it has
produced 269.2 kWh of renewable electricity up to 16
November, 2010.
Data logging software called SKYVIEW was included
with the installation and enables the consumer to
monitor the real time performance of the turbine, such
as its power and RPM levels. It also provides information
on current and historical energy production levels of
the turbine system.
53
This Rewind 10 kW wind turbine was installed by
Rewind Energy to supply power to the Mountain Ridge
Winery and Brewery. It is located on Coolangatta Road,
Coolangatta. It is mounted on a 12 m tilt tower.
The turbine was installed in mid 2010 and had
generated 3,950 kWh by mid November 2010.
SITE ASSESSMENT
Wind monitoring was not undertaken prior to
installation, however the site is very well exposed in
the prevailing wind directions, and the online site
assessment tool available from the installer indicates
average wind speeds in the range 5–7.5 m/s.
DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS
No development approval was required as this is a rural
property.
CONNECTING AND SELLING TO THE GRID
Two meters have been installed, recording the
electricity consumption and turbine gross power
production respectively. According to the turbine
owner, a credit of $1,700 was achieved on the latest
quarterly electricity bill thanks to the earnings from the
turbine exceeding the site power consumption costs.
The customer is serviced by Endeavour Energy.
COST AND BENEFITS
The total system cost was $79,990. The economic
benets of the system include:
• Solar Credits discount and RECs for ve years:
$8,080
• RECs for 6th – 10th year: $3,800
• RECs for 11th – 15th year: $3,800
FURTHER COMMENTS AND ADVICE
• A user friendly portable meter is connected to the
turbine gross meter. It displays information such as
accumulated energy production and the earnings
to date.
• The recorded power production from the turbine
agrees well with the electricity readings from the
gross meter.
• This is an easy turbine to visit, by simply arranging a
visit to the Mountain Ridge Winery.
Figure 6.1: Two SMA 5 kW inverters and controllers
(Photo: Enhar)
Enhar thanks Rewind Energy for arranging a tour of this
site on 16 November 2010.
Case Study 2: Coolangatta – 10kW turbine at winery
54
Case Study 3: Bremlea – 60kW community wind project
The Breamlea is located right on the coast just south of
Geelong, Victoria, and was originally installed in 1987.
The 60 kW grid-connected turbine was manufactured
by Westwind of Western Australia and sits atop a 22 m
monopole. The turbine outputs approximately
80,000 kWh per year to the grid. The average wind
speed is 5.9 m/s.
A variety of groups have looked after the turbine since
construction: the Victorian Solar Energy Council, State
Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV), Alternative
Technology Association (ATA), a private owner and
currently Barwon Water.
Barwon Water purchased the turbine from a private
owner in 2003 after a combination of moisture and salt
build-up started a generator re. The generator was
restored by a rm in Geelong and the turbine was back
online in early 2004. While the turbine is over 30 years
old, it manages an estimated 90-95 per cent availability;
currently Barwon Water is considering an upgrade of
the telemetry or remote access capabilities, which may
improve this.
A wind resource assessment was undertaken at a
nearby site but not at the exact turbine location.
Today, a hub height mounted anemometer provides
independent wind speed measurements. The hub
height wind speed is monitored on a dedicated wind
monitoring pole adjacent to the wind turbine - the
average wind speed is 5.9 m/s.
Barwon Water is considering using the turbine output
to supply the new biosolids drying facility being built
in the adjacent property. This facility takes sewage and
turns it into nutrient rich fertiliser for local farmers.
FURTHER COMMENTS AND ADVICE
• The performance of this wind turbine is
generally satisfying. In a recent year, it produced
approximately 100,000 kWh of renewable
electricity. The minimum annual power
generation reached has been 65,000 kWh.
• According to Barwon Water, there have not been
any complaints from the surrounding neighbour-
hood about the wind turbine noise.
• A new and larger wind turbine has been
considered to be built to replace the existing one.
However, no nalised proposal has been made due
to various reasons.
• This is believed to have been the rst
community owned wind turbine in Australia.
Enhar thanks Barwon Water, owner of the Breamlea
wind turbine, for assisting Enhar with this case study.
55
Belgravia North is situated in rural NSW, north of
Orange. The 10 kW grid connected Fortis Alize wind
turbine is mounted on an 18 m tall guyed mast tower,
and is expected to produce 27,000 kWh per year. The
wind turbine is privately owned and was installed in
November 2010.
SITE ASSESSMENT
A weather station operated on the site as a part of a
research project being undertaken on the owner’s land.
This provided detailed wind speed information.
WIND RATHER THAN SOLAR
The 10 kW wind turbine system was chosen over similar
sized PV systems on the basis that it has the capacity to
produce more energy and perform more consistently
over its lifetime, and the replacement of components
could be easily performed, preventing the need to
replace the entire system.
CHOOSING A TURBINE
The owner placed priority on seeking a manufacturer
with extensive history in small wind turbine
manufacturing and installation. After consultation
with an experienced European wind turbine
manufacturer and trusting the advice given, the owner
chose to invest in a manufacturer based in Holland.
The particular turbine model chosen was based on
the analysis of costs, performance and returns on
investment of each turbine considered by the owner
and their associate.
DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL
It was determined that a development approval was
not required on this site after referral to the local
council zoning conditions and consultation with a
third party experienced in development applications
regarding large scale wind turbines.
INSTALLATION
The installation procedure was undertaken by the
approved distributor of the turbines, Australis Wind
Energy. The owner reported that the grid connection
application was approved by the network company
subject to upgrading of the existing transformer.
According to the owner, four months after the
application was lodged the network company had not
upgraded the transformer and wrote to the installer
advising that the upgrade may take another four
months. Shortly afterwards, the existing transformer
stopped working, forcing a replacement of the
transformer. The replacement transformer met the
requirements of the wind installation to connect to
the grid. The upgrade of the transformer was the
responsibility of the network company and the delays
in the upgrade were regarded by the owner as a lost
opportunity in terms of lost feed in tari income for
that time period.
COST
The total cost of the system was around $81,000 and it
was eligible for $6,000 in renewable energy certicates.
OTHER COMMENTS AND ADVICE
‘[choose] a supplier that can ne tune the components
to ensure the system is producing maximum energy.
When feeding to the grid make sure your mains
transformer is producing the right current. If it is
producing more current that it should be you system
will not be able to feed into the grid! Make sure you
have got accurate wind data for your site.’
Enhar thanks Hugh and Elly Haynes, owners of the
Belgravia North wind turbine, for submitting this case
study.
Case Study 4: Belgravia North – 10kW
Figure 6.2: Fortis Alize wind turbine
(Source: Fortis Alize brochure)
56
Case Study 5: Milton – 5.8 kW wind turbine for home/farm
The property owners installed this turbine in July
2010 to provide electricity for their home and farm.
The turbine is expected to pay for itself in under 10
years, reduce power bills by more than 50 per cent,
or almost $1,500 each year, and halve the property’s
carbon footprint. The time from down payment to
commissioning was 10-15 weeks.
SITE
Location: Rural site in Milton, NSW south coast
• Average wind speed on site: Conservative estimate
of 5 m/s at 10 m height
• Source of wind speed estimates: Bureau of
Meteorology (BoM) weather stations
• Turbine is connected to: home/farm (pump for
stock water)
• Planning approvals: not required under state
planning laws in specied rural zones
• Grid connection authority: Endeavour Energy
TURBINE
Contractor/installer: Australis Wind Energy Pty Ltd
• Designer and manufacturer: Fortis Wind Energy
(The Netherlands)
• Components: 5.8 kW Fortis Montana Wind Turbine,
SMA Windy Boy Inverter 6000A
• Tower: 18 m high tilt-up/hinged monopole
• Electrical specications: 5.8 kW maximum power
(at 17 m/s wind speed), single phase grid connect
• Mechanical specications: 5 m rotor diameter,
three blades, xed pitch breglass reinforced epoxy
blades, passive aligned tail
• System integration: connected at 240 AC single
phase/gross feed-in meter
• System monitoring: gross feed-in meter (kWh);
data logger in SMA 6,000W Inverter (kWh)
BENEFITS
• Projected production: 9,701 kWh/yr (at 5 m/s wind
speed on 18 m high tower)
• Income from Renewable Energy Certicates:
$8,880 in three payments over 10 years
• Tax depreciation: $29,316 over 10 years
• Greenhouse reduction: 8.8 tonnes of carbon diox-
ide each year (or 176,000 ‘black balloons’)
• Total costs of equipment, labour, permits: $49,000
including GST .
Courtesy of Australis Wind Energy (02 6964 0070)
Reproduced with the permission of the NSW DoP&I.
57
The property owner installed this turbine in 2010 to
provide electricity for a home/farm. The turbine is
expected to reduce power bills by almost $100,000 over
20 years, reduce greenhouse emissions by almost 80
per cent, and pay for itself in less than ve years.
The time from down payment to commissioning was
two months.
SITE
• Location: Goulburn Rd, Crookwell
• Wind speed on site: estimated 5.5 m/s average at
tower hub height (12 m)
• Source of wind speed estimates: wind monitor-
ing for nearby wind farm, and site-specic desktop
based wind modelling using 3 Tier.
• Planning approvals: not required as development
was exempt development in some rural zones
under state planning controls
• Grid connection authority: Essential Energy
TURBINE
• Contractor/installer: Rewind Energy Pty Ltd
• Manufacturer: Rewind Energy (China)
• Date completed: April 2010
• Tower: 12 m split, tilt-up tower
• Mechanical specications: 3 x 4.2 m diameter
blades, 470 kg nacelle
• System components: 3-phase alternator with pitch
control
• Electrical specications: 10 kW grid connect
• System integration: 2 x SMA 5000a inverters
• Maintenance: Maintenance service every ve years
at around $280. Tilt tower lowered with winch.
Replace blades after 10–15 years at approximately
$4,750 per set
• Post installation monitoring: power production
monitoring; no wind speed monitoring
BENEFITS
• Projected production: 24,000 kWh/yr (at 5.5 m/s
wind speed at 12 m tower hub height)
• Income from Renewable Energy Certicates:
$13,680 in three payments over 15 years (conserva-
tively assumed $40 per REC)
• Tax depreciation: $19,000 over 10 years
• Electricity load oset: 80 per cent (approx)
• Total costs of equipment, labour, permits: $72,990
incl GST
• Financial payback period: less than ve years
• Greenhouse savings: 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide
per year (or 220,000 ‘black balloons’)
Courtesy of Rewind Energy Pty Ltd (1300 322 678)
Reproduced with the permission of the NSW DoP&I.
Case Study 6: Crookwell – 10 kW wind turbine for home/farm
References and Further Reading
61
Chapter 7. References and further reading
Sources referred to in the text
[1] Victorian Consumer Guide to Small Wind Turbine Generation
Enhar, May 2010, for Sustainability Victoria. Available online from Sustainability Victoria: www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/
resources/documents/Small_Wind_Generation1.pdf
[2] New South Wales Wind Atlas
Produced by SEDA in 2002. Available online on the NSW Industry and Investment site:
www.industry.nsw.gov.au/energy/sustainable/renewable/wind
[3] Griggs-Putnam Index diagram
Image of this frequently used diagram was reproduced from the Southwest Wind Power Consumer Guide ‘Siting wind
turbines’, page 3/7. Data prepared by E.W. Hewson, J.E. Wade, and R.W. Baker of Oregon State University. This guide is
available at: www.windenergy.com/documents/guides/0372_Siting_guide.pdf
[4] ‘Wind Power – Plan your own wind power system’,
Trevor Robotham and Peter Freere, published by Alternative Technology Association, 2004. You can purchase this Wind
Power Booklet for $10 from the ATA online store at: http://shop.ata.org.au It is especially useful if you are aiming to get
an o-grid wind system using battery storage.
[5] ‘State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007’
New South Wales Government, 2007. Scroll to Part 3 >> Division 4 >> Clause 39 (Exempt Development). Available at:
www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/viewtop/inforce/epi+641+2007+cd+0+N/
[6] Review of Victorian Urban Wind Roses
Report by Enhar, for Sustainability Victoria, April 2010.
[7] Warwick Wind Trials
Encraft, UK, 2009. Results available at: www.warwickwindtrials.org.uk/
[8] Zeeland wind test site
Zeeland, Holland. Results available at: http://provincie.zeeland.nl/milieu_natuur/windenergie/kleine_windturbines
[9] ‘Wind tower economics’
By Mick Sagrillo, published in the USA’s Home Power edition #38 December 1993/Jan 1994. Available from: www.
windpowerservicesllc.com/pdf/Tower%20Economics%20101.pdf
[10] ‘Victorian Urban Wind Resource Assessment’
Report prepared by Mike Baggot for Alternative Technology Association, April 2009. Project commissioned by
Sustainability New South Wales. Available online from ATA website: www.ata.org.au/projects-and-advocacy/domestic-
wind-turbines
[11] ‘Evaluation of Wind Resources at Port Phillip Bay’
Demian Natakhan of Enhar, for City of Port Phillip, June 2009. Available from the City of Port Phillip or online from the
Enhar website: www.enhar.com.au/index.php?page=port_phillip_wind
[12] ‘Small Generators Owners Guide’
Published by The Oce of the Renewable Energy Regulator, describes RET processes for owners of small generation
units (SGUS) including small-scale solar photovoltaic panels, wind and hydro electricity systems. Updated as regulations
change. Available via: www.orer.gov.au
62
[13] ‘NSW Solar Bonus Scheme description’
Website of the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, www.industry.nsw.gov.
au, by clicking through Sustainable energy » Renewable energy » Solar power » NSW Solar Bonus Scheme
[14] NSW Solar Bonus Scheme update
The Premier of NSW press release:‘NSW Government revamps solar bonus scheme’ dated Wednesday 27 October, 2010,
published through the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services website. It is
available at: www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_le/0005/360194/nsw-govt-revamps-solar-bonus-scheme.pdf
[15] ‘NSW Solar Bonus Scheme – Frequently Asked Questions’
Website of the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, www.industry.nsw.gov.
au, by clicking through Sustainable energy » Renewable energy » Solar power » NSW Solar Bonus Scheme » Frequently
asked questions
[16] ‘Consumer Guide to Buying Solar Panels (photovoltaic panels)’
Clean Energy Council, Volume 4: 5 October 2005. Available at:
www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/dms/cec/resource-centre/Solar-PV-consumer-guide/Solar%20PV%20Consumer%20
Guide%20Vol4%205%20Oct%202010.pdf
[17] ‘Discussion Paper on Planning for Renewable Energy Generation – Small Wind Turbines’
NSW DoP&I, April 2010, available online via: www.planning.nsw.gov.au by clicking through » Development Assessments
» On exhibition » Previous On exhibition – draft policies and plans or try the link at: www.planning.nsw.gov.au/LinkClick.
aspx?leticket=yHOCF-baJXs%3d&tabid=394&language=en-AU
[18] ‘NSW Industrial Noise Policy’
Industrial Noise Policy, NSW Oce of Environment and Heritage (OEH).
Available at: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/noise/industrial.htm
[19] ‘Removing Impediments to Connecting Renewable Energy to the Grid’
Clean Energy Council: www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au by clicking through Policy and Advocacy >> Industry
Developments >> Removing Impediments
[20] ‘Solar Bonus Scheme – Forecast NSW PV capacity and tari payments’
AECOM Australia, prepared by Jeremy Balding & Dominic Kua, October 2010, Page 10. Available at:
www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_le/0016/360142/AECOM-REPORT-for-Solar-Bonus-Scheme-Review.pdf
63
USEFUL RESOURCES
RENEWABLE ENERGY PRECINCTS
The Renewable Energy Precincts initiative provides advice and support to individuals and communities in NSW for
the uptake of renewable energy technologies, including small scale wind energy.
For more information on the NSW Renewable Energy Precincts see the website of the NSW Oce of Environment
and Heritage (OEH):
www.environment.nsw.gov.au/climatechange/renewableprecincts.htm
‘The NSW Government is positioning NSW to take advantage of the predicted increase in investment in renewable
energy that will result from the expanded national renewable energy target (RET) to 20 per cent by 2020.
The NSW Government is rolling out a wide suite of reforms to promote
renewable energy, ranging from planning and regulatory reforms for cost-
eective technologies through to incentives and grants for technologies
that are further from commercial viability. Initially it is expected that
most of the renewable energy supply will be met by wind energy
developments.
One of the key components of the NSW Government’s renewable energy
agenda is the establishment of six renewable energy precincts in the New
England Tablelands, Upper Hunter, Central Tablelands, NSW/ACT Cross
Border Region, Snowy-Monaro and the South Coast.
The precincts are a community partnership initiative in areas where
signicant future renewable energy development is expected – especially
wind farms – designed to give local communities a voice and a stake in
renewable energy development.
Dedicated renewable energy sta have been put in place to help drive
regional initiatives and lead stakeholder engagement to enhance
knowledge, understanding and uptake of renewable energy.
IPART
IPART is an independent body that oversees regulation of the water, gas, electricity and public transport industries
in NSW. You may nd useful information regarding retail prices and tari arrangements that aect your choice of
system arrangement. See www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/
Recommended further reading
‘Generate Your Own Power – Your Guide To Installing a Small Wind System’
Prepared by RenewableUK – the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries,
2010. Available online from the RenewableUK: www.bwea.com/pdf/publications/RenewableUK_SWS_Consumer_
Guide.pdf
This is a very concise overview of undertaking a small wind turbine project.
‘Managing the amenity impacts of low emission energy generation in commercial buildings’
Guide for Queensland local governments, the State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic
Development and Innovation, 2010. Available from the Oce of Clean Energy, Queensland: www.cleanenergy.qld.
gov.au
‘Small Wind Electric Systems – A U.S Consumer’s Guide’
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2005.
Available online from the U.S Department of Energy website: www.windpoweringamerica.gov/pdfs/small_wind/
small_wind_guide.pdf
64
‘Stand-alone Power System – Small Wind Systems: System Design Guidelines’
Developed by the Clean Energy Council (CEC), 2004. Available online from the Clean Energy Council website: www.
cleanenergycouncil.org.au/dms/cec/accreditation/Quick-Find-Forms/SWind_Design_G.pdf
‘Choosing a Wind Turbine and Tower’
This is a series of articles collated by Green Energy Ohio relating to choosing a wind turbine and tower for your
wind project, 2004. Available online from the Green Energy Ohio website:
www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageId=536
‘Urban Wind Turbines – Guidelines for Small Wind Turbines in the Built Environment’
Authored by Jadranka Cace, Emil ter Horst, Katerina Syngellakis, Maíte Niel, Axenne Patrick Clement, Axenne
Renate Heppener and Eric Peirano for Intelligent Energy Europe, 2007.
Available online at: www.urbanwind.net/pdf/SMALL_WIND_TURBINES_GUIDE_nal.pdf.
Feed in taris in NSW
Energy Matters website: www.energymatters.com.au/government-rebates/feedintari.php
Energy auditing and saving power in NSW
Useful tools to conduct your own energy audits and nd out how to save power at your home or business: www.
savepower.nsw.gov.au
Useful websites
Australian Small Wind Energy Association: www.aswea.org.au
‘Small Wind’ guide within the American Wind Energy Association website: www.awea.org/smallwind
Bureau of Meteorology climate data: www.bom.gov.au
UK Microgeneration Certication Scheme: www.microgenerationcertication.org
Small Wind Certication Council: www.smallwindcertication.org
The Small Wind Certication Council (SWCC), an independent certication body, certies that small wind turbines
meet or exceed the requirements of the AWEA Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard.
Planning an o–grid wind turbine?
If your property does not have aordable connection to the mains electricity grid, you may be considering an o-
grid wind power system.
An existing guide is published giving you guidance on choosing and designing an o-
grid wind turbine system. You can purchase the ‘Wind Power Booklet’ [Reference 2] for
$10 from the Alternative Technology Association’s online shop: http://shop.ata.org.au
65
Appendices
66
67
Appendix A – Small wind project checklist
1. Site and feasibility assessment
Complete a wind resource assessment of your site to conrm feasibility for a small wind project
Choose a location for your turbine
Estimate your budget
2. System design
Choose a suitable:
turbine
tower
inverter
controller
meter
Make nancial calculations considering the complete project cost and potential earnings
3. Development approval
Contact your local council to conrm development approval requirements
Supply council with the requested details to obtain relevant approvals to proceed
4. System installation
Choose an installation team, which includes a CEC wind endorsed installer and licensed builder.
System to be installed and connected to the grid by your chosen installation team
5. System operation and maintenance
Apply and register your RECs if you have chosen to become an individual RECs trader.
Ensure your turbine is regularly maintained by a qualied person.
68
Appendix B – List of small wind turbine suppliers
This section lists some active wind turbine vendors in NSW. It also lists active wind turbine installers in NSW. Often
the installers are also eectively the vendors of the turbine, however in some cases you may purchase the turbine
product and installation service separately.
While we have endeavoured to obtain details from all the relevant organisations, and it is possible that information
on certain suppliers was not available to us and has therefore been omitted. Also, retail business changes from
year-to-year and it is to be expected that this list will not remain static.
List of small wind turbine products
There is a reasonable amount of choice in the Australian market for small wind turbines. A small number of
turbines are manufactured in Australia, however the vast majority are manufactured in America and the United
Kingdom. In general, these manufacturers have appointed distributors of the turbines in Australia, through which
suppliers and installers can order a turbine. However, turbines can often also be purchased directly through the
manufacturer.
This section includes turbine specication data on all turbine models readily available in NSW and for which
we have been able to obtain information. This list is not exhaustive, as there are a number of new models and
suppliers coming onto the market regularly. We collected data in consultation with the industry, however we
have not received responses from all relevant parties and therefore there are possibly other suppliers/resellers of
turbines who we do not have information about.
Turbine prices
Typically a supplier of turbines will quote on a fully installed price, which includes an inverter, tower, batteries (if
not grid connected) and installation costs. Diering ground conditions alter the foundation requirements, hence a
range of prices is normally quoted to allow for this variation.
Some turbines are supplied with their own towers (eg Soma and Proven), however it is possible to obtain dierent
towers that are still suitable for the turbine. Eden Power advises that Skystream turbines are no longer sold as
individual units and are now sold as packages with tower included, as the manufacturer wishes to ensure they are
installed with specic equipment.
To make the task manageable, this guide attempts to provide a recommended retail price for the turbine
unit (minus towers, inverters, and installation) where possible, as the other costs will vary depending on the
circumstances in which it is installed. As explained above, the Skystream has to be purchased as a fully installed
package, and therefore an expected price range for a fully installed turbine is quoted.
The prices included in the list below are not a nal installed price, unless stated otherwise, but simply a guide
to the relative component cost of dierent turbines. Even in cases where an ‘installed’ price is quoted, this will
vary from site-to-site depending on the site-specic factors such as soil types, foundation and/or mounting
requirements.
For a small wind turbine project, the turbine cost (without tower, inverter or installation) normally represents
about 25-35 per cent of the total project price.
69
In identifying turbines for inclusion on the NSW list of small wind turbine products, we have endeavoured to
ensure:
• the turbine is manufactured in Australia and has both sales sta and technical support sta in Australia OR,
• for turbines manufactured overseas, the manufacturing company has sales and technical
support sta in Australia,
• for turbines manufactured overseas, if the manufacturing company does not have sta in Australia, that it has
approved reseller(s) in Australia who have both sales and technical support sta in Australia
• any approved resellers that are listed by the manufacturer have gone through necessary
training provided by the overseas manufacturer and the reseller company details are made publicly available
by the manufacturer (eg the overseas manufacturer lists its Australian
resellers on its website).
• where multiple companies oer a certain turbine brand in NSW, we refer consumers instead to the manufac-
turer website so the manufacturer can inform the consumer of the available installers in their region. All install-
ers are encouraged to ensure that they are publicly identied by the manufacturer (eg on the manufacturer’s
website). In the case of Skystream for example, the nearest approved resellers and approved service providers
to any consumer address can be found using the Skystream website.
• company vending turbine oers warranty support for all customers in NSW, warranty support is demonstrated
by one or more named sta or contractors who are resident in NSW, where the named sta or contractor holds
accreditation for design and installation of grid connected systems including holding a valid Clean Energy
Council endorsement for small wind
• the wind turbine advertised is already in production. Where a turbine is a prototype with design changes
expected for the commercial version, the word ‘prototype’ is stated under the turbine model.
Turbine noise
For turbines where only a sound pressure level, LP, at a distance (r, in m) from the turbine is provided, the sound
power level, LW, is calculated by Enhar based on the following formula: (denoted with a star * in the table below)
LW = LP + 20 log10 (r) + 8 dB
70
Manufacturer or
distributor
Aerogenesis Australia
david.wood@aerogenesis.
com.au www.aerogenesis.
com.au
The Wind Turbine
Company (Melb) ph: 1300
858 073, enquiries@twtc.
com.au www.twtc.com.au
Precision Wind
Technology Pty. Ltd Ph:
(02) 6679 1234 www.pwt.
com.au
&
Energy Matters (South
Melbourne)
Ph: 1300 727 151 sales@
energymatters.com.au
www.energymatters.com.
au
Bergen Wind, 26n Derby
St, Walcha, NSW, Ph:
(02) 6777 1044 www.
bergenwind.com.au
The Wind Turbine
Company (Melb) ph: 1300
858 073, enquiries@twtc.
com.au www.twtc.com.au
Solar Inverters Ph: (02)
6655 3930, 30 Osprey
Drive Urunga, NSW
www.solarinverters.com.
au
Warranty
(yrs)
5
2
5
5
5
RRP
$1,724
$3,346
$4,366
$4,500
$30,000
Comments
Recently
commerc-
ialised
towers at height
of 12, 18, 24,
30m. 18, 24m
monopole
o-grid use
only
30m guyed or
standard towers
available, as
well as 18, 24m
monopoles
towers
Sound
power
level at
8 m/s
48 dBA
1
~ 68.75
dBA
89.5dB
2
No data
98.4
dBA
3
No data
Generator
type
3 phase
induction
generator
3 Phase
Direct
Drive
Permanent
Magnet
Permanent
Magnet
Alternator
Synch
ronous
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
Weight
(kg)
1300
(inc
tower)
12.5
12
16
202
Rotor
diameter
(m)
5
7.6
0.928
1.2
1.7
2.5
6.37
5.6
Blade
material
Vacuum
infused
bre glass
reinforced
epoxy
Glass lled
polyprop-
ylene
Glass
reinforced
polyester
FV + Epoxy,
aluminium
root insert,
hollow
technology
No. of
blades
2
3
6
3
3
3
2
Overspeed
protection
Micro-
processor
control and
electro-
mechanical
brake
None
PowerFurl™
blade pitch
control
system
Auto Furl
Full span
centrifugal
pitch
control
Voltages
available
80 – 500
AC
12, 24
12, 24
24, 230
Grid
24 DC,
120 AC
60Hz,
230 AC
50 Hz
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
3
3.5
3
3
3
2.5
3.6
4.1
2.7
Power
rating
5000 @
10.5 m/s
9800W
@ 11 m/s
100W @
12.6 m/s
300W @
12.6 m/s
698W @
11 m/s
1000W
@ 11 m/s
10000W
@ 13.9
m/s
5200W
@ 11 m/s
6000 W
@ 11.5
m/s
Model
5kW
Aircon
10kW
Pacic
100
300
600
BWC
XL.1
BWC
Excel
Edur-
ance
5kW
Scir-
occo
5.5-
6000
Brand/
made in
Aerogenesis
(Australia)
Aircon
(Germany)
Ampair (UK)
Bergey
WindPower
(USA)
Endurance
(Canada)
Eoltec
71
Manufacturer or
distributor
The Wind Turbine
Company (Melb) ph: 1300
858 073, enquiries@twtc.
com.au www.twtc.com.au
Wind Power Energy
(WA) ph: (08) 9683 2101
windpowerenergy@
bigpond.com www.
windpowerenergy.com.au
Go to Fortis’s webpage:
www.fortiswindenergy.
com
and click on ‘contact’ to
identify the Australian
dealer
Regen Power Ph: (02)9636
4670 admin.nsw@
regenpower.com
www.regenpower.com
Warranty
(yrs)
5
1
5
5
5
2
RRP
$500
$715
$1,000
$1,650
$3,390
$5,290
$14,745
$22,695
$17,350
$32.000
$70,000
$110,000
fully
installed
Comments
turbine only
(exclude
installation)
Pricing
provided
by Australis
Energy,
includes
18 meter
guy wired
mast,
excluding
installation.
Inverter-less
Sound
power
level at
8 m/s
No
data
86.5
dBA
4
84.9
dBA
5
84.9
dBA
6
86 8
dBA
7
Generator
type
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
3 Phase
permanent
magnet
3 phase
induction
generator
Weight
(kg)
40
46
70
123
327
358
1250
1698
75
200
420
900
Rotor
diameter
(m)
7.6
2.2
2.5
2.8
3.2
4
5.5
7 10
3.12
5
7
13
Blade
material
Reinforced
Fibreglass
Fibreglass
No. of
blades
3
3
3
3
3
2
Overspeed
protection
Yaw
Yaw & Auto
Brake
Auto furl,
generator
short circuit
Passive
stall,
mechanical
brake,
centrifugal
aerody-
namic rotor
brake
Voltages
available
12, 24 DC
24, 48 DC
24, 48, 120,
240, 300
DC
48, 120,
240, 300,
350 DC
240, 300,
360, 480
DC
DC:
12/24/48,
AC: 240
DC: 48/120
/240, AC:
240
DC:
120/240,
AC: 240
400 AC
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
3.5
3
3
2.5
3
3.5
Power
rating
9800W
@ 11 m/s
300W
@ 8 m/s
500W
@ 8 m/s
1000W
@ 8 m/s
2000W
@ 8 m/s
3000W
@ 10 m/s
5000W
@ 10 m/s
10000W
@ 11 m/s
20000W
@ 11m/s
0.9kW @
11m/s
3.4kW @
11m/s
8.5kW @
11m/s
11000W
@
9.5m/s
Model
Evoco
10kW
HM 2.2-
300
HM 2.5-
500
HM 2.8-
1000
HM 3.2-
2000
HM
4-3000
HM 5.5-
5000
HM
7-10000
HM 10-
20000
Passaat
Montana
Alize
133-
11kW
Brand/
made in
Evoco (UK)
Exmork
(China)
Fortis
(Nether-
lands)
Gaia Wind
(Denmark)
72
Manufacturer or
distributor
Aura Wind Power,
30 Roberts St Old
Erowal Bay, NSW,
Phone (02) 4443
3662
Mobile 0411 788
234
Neosid Australia
(Importer)
ph:(02) 9660 4566
sales@neosid.
com.au
www.neosid.com.
au
I Want Energy
(TAS) ph: (03)
6231 0002 rob@
iwantsolar.com.au
www.iwantsolar.
com.au
Warranty
(yrs)
2
2
2
1
2
RRP
$7,728.70
$9,095.0
$19,460
$1,340
$2,210
$3,520
$9,500
$29,500
$51,500
$10,840
$25,700
$46,080
$88,370
$216,010
Comments
48 Volt,
Latronics
200 Volt, SMA
Marine
applications
4F & 6F
variety will
furl – land
only
Price is fully
installed
VAWT. Price is
fully installed
Sound
power
level at
8 m/s
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
NA
8
Wind
tunnel
tests
indicate
less than
8dB
above
back-
ground
8
Generator
type
Permanent
Magnet
Axial ux
brushless
Permanent
Magnet
Axial ux
brushless
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Alternator
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
Weight
(kg)
75
150
5
9.3
12.5
83
250
600
Un-
known
Rotor
diameter
(m)
3
4
0.58
0.87
1.22
2.7
6.4
8
2
3
4
6
9
Blade
material
Fibreglass
Fibreglass
Glass lled
poly-
propylene
Glass
Rein-
forced
Plastic
Un-
known
No. of
blades
3
3
5
6
3
5
Overspeed
protection
Pitch Control
Pitch Control
None
Furling and
electro-
magnetic
brake
Electronic
Brake
Hydraulic
Brake
Electro-
magnetic
and
mechanical
brake
Voltages
available
12,24,36,
48,110,
200 VDC
48,200,300
VDC
12., 24
48 DC
Unknown
48 DC
148 DC
216 DC
48 DC
384 DC
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
2.5
2.8
6.2
4.1
3.3
3
1.8
Power
rating
1000W
@ 11m/s
3000W
@ 11m/s
48W @
20.5m/s
228W @
31m/s
360W @
23.1m/s
1000W
@ 8m/s
5000W
@ 10m/s
10000W
@ 9m/s
1600W
@ 10m/s
3200W
@ 10m/s
6000W
@ 10m/s
12000W
@ 11m/s
30000W
@ 11m/s
Model
Kestrel
e300i
Kestrel
e400i
212/224
412/424
612/624
1kW
5kW
10kW
1.6kW
3.2kW
6kW
12kW
30kW
Brand/made
in
Kestrel (South
Africa)
LVM (UK)
MUCE (China)
73
Manufacturer or
distributor
Ginlong Australia
(Australian contact
details yet to be
conrmed)
Conergy Pty Ltd
ph:(02) 8507 2222
sales@conergy.
com.au
www.conergy.
com.au
Maxim Renewable
(Alphington) ph:
9490 9999 www.
maximrenewable.
com.au
www.radotec.com.
au
Cubic Solutions
www.
cubicsolutions.
com.au
Tel 1300-4-CUBIC
Contact Trevor
Loel
Rewind Energy
(NSW) ph: 1300
322 678 sales@
rewindenergy.
com.au www.
rewindenergy.
com.au
Warranty
(yrs)
5
5
5
2
2
3
RRP
~$5,000
(turbine
only)
~$30,000
(turbine
only)
$38,544
$74,580
$161,568
$53,650
(inc
inverter
and
controller)
Prototype
stage,
retail
price not
available
$38,830
$66,910
Comments
Costs
include
tower
VAWT. Price
incl inverter
and
controller
Rooftop
Mounted,
diuser
ring
Price is fully
installed
Sound
power
level a
8m/s
No data
No data
No data
85.4 dBA
9
92 dBA
10
88.4 *
dBA
11
35 dBA
12
*95.55 dBA
*97.55
dBA
13
72
Generator
type
Direct drive
permanent
magnet
Direct drive
permanent
magnet
Brushless
permanent
magnet,
direct drive
Direct Drive
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
Brushless
Permanent
Magnet
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
Permanent
Magnet
Weight
(kg)
78
1000
190
600
1100
450
52
450
550
62
Rotor
material
3.2
9.7
3.5
5.5
9.8
3.1
2.1
5.4
7.6
Blade
material
Fibreglass
reinforced
composite
Carbon
Fibre
reinfoced
composite
Glass
thermo-
plastic
composite
Carbon
and Glass
Fibre
Unknown
Plastic
Fibre-
glass
No. of
blades
5
3
3
3
3
5
3
Overspeed
protection
Dump load,
passive
furling and
blade stall
Pitching and
mechanical
brake
Downwind,
Flexible
Blades
Overspeed
Braking and
automatic
shutdown
Angling
Furling/
Dynamic
Brake
Blade Pitch
Passive stall
Voltages
available
240V AC
240V AC
12, 24, 120,
240VDC;
300VAC
48, 120,
240VDC;
300VAC
48VDC;
300VAC
Grid only
240 Grid
500 DC
240 Vac
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
2.4
2.5
2.5
4.5
3.58
3
Power
rating
1600W @
10.5m/s
10,000W
@ 9.5m/s
2800 @
12m/s
6000W @
12m/s
15000W
@ 12
4200W
@ 11m/s
10,000W
@ 11m/s
1000W
@ 11m/s
5000w @
10.5m/s
10000W
@ 12m/s
1000W
@ 14 m/s
Model
Osiris 1.6
Osiris 10
Proven
2.5
Proven 6
Proven
15
QR5
Proto-
type
vertical
axis
turbine
Swift
5kW
10kW
Revolut-
ionAir
Brand/
made in
Osiris
(China)
Proven (UK)
Quiet
Revolution
Radotec
(Australia)
Renewable
Devices
(UK)
Rewind
Energy
(China/
Germany)
74
Manufacturer or
distributor
Sustainable
Energy Solutions
(Operating as
CREST), South
Australia
Precision Wind
Technology Pty. Ltd
Ph: (02) 6679 1234
www.pwt.com.au
Sunrise Solar ph:
(02) 43811531
sunrise@dragon.
net.au www.
somapower.com.au
Southwest Wind
Power list approved
resellers of Air and
Whisper products
To nd your nearest
dealer, go to
www.windenergy.
com/
Click on ‘Locate a
Dealer’ and enter
your address
Approved
Skystream dealers
also sell Air and
Whisper products
Southwest wind
power train and
authorise approved
Skystream resellers
and service agents.
To nd dealers near
you, go to www.
skystreamenergy.
com and click on
‘where to buy’
Solar Inverters Ph:
(02) 6655 3930,
30 Osprey Drive
Urunga, NSW
www.solarinverters.
com.au
Warranty
(yrs)
2
2
1
3
5
RRP
$10,780
$28,160
$40,920
$ 956
$5,400
$9,917
$1529
(Land)
$1271
(Land)
$5,415
$6,519
$16,456
$30,000-
$40,000
fully
installed
Comments
VAWT
For remote
area
applicattion
Marine is
powder
coated for
corrosion
protection
HV Avail
Controls
& inverter
built in.
Includes
Tower in
package
Meets IEC
61400-2
Design
require-
ment
Sound
power level
at 8 m/s
NA
14
No data
Data not yet
available
(tests
underway)
~80dbA
15
No data
84.9dBA
16
~88dBA
17
No data
84.9dBA
18
No data
Generator
type
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
3 Phase
Alternator
Brushless
Permanent
Magnet
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Alternator
Brushless
Neody-
mium
Alternator
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Alternator
Slotless
permanent
magnet
brushless
Permanent
Magnet
Weight
(kg)
130
450
760
10.5
40
50
6.2
5.9
21
30
70
77
11.5
Rotor
diameter
(m)
1.8
3.3
4.7
0.91
2
2.7
1.15
1.17
2.1
2.7
4.5
3.72
1.2
Blade
material
Fabricated
Unknown
Hollow
Moulded
Fibreglass
Carbon
Fibre
Composite
Injection
Moulded
Composite
Carbon
Reinforced
breglass
Fibreglass
reinforced
composite
No. of
blades
3
6
2
3
3
3
2
3
3
Overspeed
protection
Not
Required
None
Tilt Up
Electronic
Torque
Control
Side
Furling
Electronic
stall regul-
ation with
redundant
relay switch
control
Rotor Blade
Pitch
Voltages
available
12, 24, 48
48DC; 115,
230AC
48DC; 115,
230AC
12
12, 24, 32,
48, 110,
120
12, 24, 48
12, 24, 48
12, 24, 36,
48
24, 36, 48
24, 36, 48
120/240
VAC
12, 24, 48
DC
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
3
2.6
4
3.5
3.58
2.68
3.4
3.1
3.4
3.5
3.5
Power
rating
1000W
@ 14m/s
3000W
@ 14m/s
6000W
@ 14m/s
90W @
9.8m/s
400W @
10m/s
1000W
@ 10m/s
400W @
12.5m/s
160W @
12.5m/s
900W@
12.5m/s
1000W @
11.6m/s
3000W @
10.5m/s
2400W
@ 13m/s
350W @
12.5 m/s
Model
Easy
Vertical
Simply
Vertical
Maxi
Vertical
913
Soma 400
Soma
1000
Air X
Air Breeze
Whisper
100
Whisper
200
Whisper
500
Skystream
350
Brand/
made in
Ropatec
(Italy)
Rutland
(UK)
Soma
(Australia)
Southwest
Wind-
power
(USA)
Superwind
75
Manufacturer or distributor
McFarlane Generators
www.macgen.com
Clayton South, VIC
Tel (0) 3 9544 4222
Advanced Eco Solutions Pty
Ltd (NSW) ph: 02 8437 6264
ben@advancedeco.com.au
www.advancedeco.com.au
Numerous sellers, but no
central distributors. See
www.westwindturbines.
co.uk
Solartec Renewables
Ph: (02) 4476 5912
AllSafe Energy Ecient
Products Ph: (07) 3855 8733
www.all-safe.com.au/
Aura Wind Power, 30
Roberts St Old Erowal Bay,
NSW, Phone (02) 4443 3662
Mobile 0411 788 234
Energy Matters, 35 Tebbutt
St, Leichhardt, NSW, Ph:
1300 727 151
www.energymatters.com.
au
Warranty
(yrs)
1
extend-
able
2
5
2
1
RRP
$9,481.30
$15,462
$34,533
$9,619
$15,466
$27,560
$53,190
$14,200
(inc
tower &
inverter)
$14,960
Comments
VAWT. Prices
include
towers and
inverters
VAWT.
Integrated
inverter
$11,440
without
Tower
Sound
power
level at
8 m/s
No data
No data
78.6*
77.6*
78.6*
dBA
19
No data
No data
87.2
dBA
20
No data
Generator
type
Permanent
magnetic
brushless
3PH AC
generator
Direct Drive
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
Direct drive
permanent
magnet
Brushless
Permanent
Magnet
Generator
Permanent
Neody-
mium
Magnet
3 Phase,
Permanent
Magnet
Weight
(kg)
27.5
81.6
175
444
200
200
380
750
283
90
280
Rotor
diameter
(m)
1.8
2.9
1.38
1.8
3
5.1
6.2
10.4
1.2
1.98
4
Blade
material
Fiber-glass
Reinforced
Composite
Fiberglass
Carbon
Fibre and
Fibreglass
Pultruded
Fibreglass
Epoxy/
carbon/
breglass
composite
Extruded
Aluminium
Reinforced
Glass Fiber
Polyester
Reinforced
Fibreglass
No. of
blades
3
3
3
3
5
3
Overspeed
protection
Aerody-
namic
eects of
blades &
Electro-
magnetic
brake
None
Auto Tail
Furl
Blade pitch/
tail furl
Redundant
electronic
braking
system
Electrical
Brake
System
Tail turning
and electric
magnet,
Automatic
Voltages
available
24, 48 DC
48, 96 DC
24, 48 DC
50 – 580
AC
48, 120,
240 Grid
120, 240
Grid
240 Grid
120 AC
230 V, 60
Hz
48 V DC /
240V
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
2.3
3
3.5
3
3
3
3.8
3
3
Power
rating
750 @
12 m/s
2500 @
12 m/s
640W @
12m/s
1000W @
12m/s
4000W @
12m/s
3000W @
14m/s
5500W @
14m/s
10000W
@ 14m/s
20000W
@ 14m/s
1200W @
10.7m/s
2250W @
2000W @
10m/s
Model
WV750
WV2500
UGE 600
UGE
1kW
UGE
4kW
3kW
5kW
10kW
20kW
Wind-
spire
1.2kW
V200
FSHD-
2000
Brand/
made in
Teco
Urban
Green
Energy
(USA)
Westwind
(Northern
Ireland)
Windspire
Energy
(USA)
Wind
Energy
Ball
WinPower
(China)
76
Source and notes
Paul Gipe measured noise emissions from Ampair 100, but could not estimate Sound Power Level at 8 m/s due to the lack of dierence between background noise. In the unloaded state SPL was calculated as 80dBA at 8m/s www.wind-works.org
Whitson R J, 2008, Acoustic Noise Measurement on an Ampair 600-230 Mk 2.5 Wind Turbine, TUV NEL.
Bergey Windpower 2007, Noise test data for the 10 kW Bergey Excel wind turbine, reproduced in “Managing the amenity impacts of low emission energy generation in commercial buildings: Guide for Queensland local government”, 2010
‘Wind Turbine Generator System Acoustic Noise Test Report for the HM 2kW Wind Turbine’. National Windpower Engineering Technology Research Centre. 2009.
‘Wind Turbine Generator System Acoustic Noise Test Report for the HM 3kW Wind Turbine’. National Windpower Engineering Technology Research Centre. 2008.
‘Wind Turbine Generator System Acoustic Noise Test Report for the HM 5kW Wind Turbine’. National Windpower Engineering Technology Research Centre. 2008.
Bowen A., et al, 2010, Small Wind Turbine Testing Results from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL.
Sound pressure measurements at 2m from the turbine were conducted. Due to the low noise levels, reportedly indiscernible above background noise, sound power level results at 8m/s to the IEC 61400-11 standard have not been provided
Clive J., (2007), ‘Proven Energy 6kW WTGS at Neilston Noise Survey’, SgurrEnergy Sustainable Energy Solutions. Test performed to the BWEA Standard
Broneske S., (2010), ‘Proven P35-2 Wind Turbine Noise Performance Test’, Hayes McKenzie.
Sound Power level for QR5 turbines:ISVR Consulting 2007, reproduced in “Managing the amenity impacts of low emission energy generation in commercial buildings: Guide for Queensland local government”, 2010
Swift Wind Turbine Specications, by Cascade Renewable Energy. Renewable Devices publish detailed information including noise emission at 8 m/s, demonstrating quiet operation. However, the turbine sound power level at source has not been
reported.
Calculated by Enhar based on Lp at 8 m/s, at 30m and 60 m away from the rotor, according to the product specications.
Ropatec has conducted their own measurements of noise, however not according to the IEC standard and therefore are not suitable for comparison
Paul Gipe measured the noise emissions from two versions of the AirX model, results are available at www.wind-works.org/articles/sm_AirXNoise.html
Migliore et al, 2003, Acoustic Tests of Small Wind Turbines, 2004 Wind Energy Symposium Reno, Nevada, NREL
Bowen A., et al, 2010, Small Wind Turbine Testing Results from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL.
Migliore et al, 2005, Balancing Performance, Noise, Cost, and Aesthetics in the Southwest Windpower “Storm” Wind Turbine, WindPower 2005,
Acoustic Noise Test done by China Ceprei (Sichuan) Lab. (2010). It meets IEC 61400-11 according to the test report.
Dijkstra, M.T., 2009, Wind Energy Ball V200 Sound Power Level Measurements, Home Energy BV, Lichtveld Buis & Partners.
Dam, J. V., 2010, Wind Turbine Generator System Acoustic Noise Test Report for the ARE442 Wind Turbine, NREL.
Zypher has measured Sound Pressure Level. At 8m/s appears to be –around 49.5 dBA from the noise data curve. www.energyconnectuk.com/pdf/NoiseData.pdf
Ref
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Manufacturer or
distributor
Aura Wind Power, 30
Roberts St Old Erowal
Bay, NSW, Phone (02)
4443 3662
Mobile 0411 788 234
Water & Energy
Savers (Operating
as Swan Energy) ph:
02 9494 0700 www.
swanenergy.com.au
Warranty
(yrs)
10
RRP
$15,044.20
$44,365
Comments
Designed
for
turbulent
wind
Sound
power
level at
8 m/s
No data
87.6
dBA
21
49.5
dBA
22
Generator
type
3 Phase,
Neody-
mium
permanent
magnet
3 Phase
Permanent
Magnet
Alternator
Weight
(kg)
143
725
725
17.5
Rotor
diameter
(m)
3.6
7.2
1.8
Blade
material
Fibreglass
Carbon
Fibre
Skin on
unknown
material
No. of
blades
3
3
Overspeed
protection
Self
Governing
tail furling
via diversion
load
Downwind,
Flexible
Blades
Voltages
available
220-240
VAC 50/60
Hz, 208, 277
VAC 60 Hz
380-415
VAC 50 Hz
25V
Cut-in
speed
(m/s)
2.5
2.2
2.5
Power
rating
2500W @
11m/s
10000w@
11.2m/s
10000W
@ 11m/s
1000W @
12.5m/s
Model
Xzeres
ARE110
Xzeres
ARE442
Xzeres
442SR
Aero-
dolphin
Mark-Zero
Brand/
made in
Xzeres
ARE (USA)
Zephyr
(Japan)
REFERENCES USED IN ABOVE TABLE OF WIND TURBINE PRODUCTS
77
List of Small Wind Turbine Installers in New South Wales
From December 2010, the Clean Energy Council will list accredited installers who also hold a wind endorsement.
This list is available through the website www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au
The wind-endorsed installers list on the CEC website is regularly updated to include new entrants and to remove
expired installers.
At the time of production of this guide, companies active in manufacture, supply or installation of wind turbines in
NSW included:
• Advanced Eco Solutions Pty Ltd
• Aerogenesis
• AllSafe Energy Ecient Products
• Aura Wind Power
• Austral Energy Pty Ltd
• Australis Wind Energy
• Advanced Eco Solutions Pty Ltd
• BergenWind
• Conergy Pty Ltd
• Cubic Solutions
• Ecowhisper
• edenPOWER Pty Ltd
• Energy Matters
• I Want Energy Pty Ltd
• Ladder Technologies Pty Ltd
• MacFarlane Generators
• Maxim Renewable
• Neosid
• Precision Wind Technology
• Radotec
• Regen Power
• Rewind Energy
• SolarTec Renewables
• Soma, trading as Sunrise Solar
• Sun Wind and Power
• Sustainable Energy Design
• The Wind Turbine Company
The above list is not exhaustive and includes some companies oering services to the NSW region who are yet
to complete commercial installations in NSW. It also includes some companies who have completed signicant
numbers of installations in NSW and who have been operating for many years in NSW.
