Bouverie Wind and Solar System
The Wind Turbine
In early November, 2009, SkyFarming finished installing a 20kW ReDriven wind turbine on Bouverie Farm, 25km south west of Mt Barker. The rotor diameter is 12m and the tower is 18m high. The tower has a hydraulic ram for lifting and lowering the nacelle. This removes the need for cranes for installation and climbing for maintenance. It is believed to be the first tower like this south of the equator.
It is also believed to be the only grid connected wind plant to be installed in WA this year.
The turbine has a direct drive generator and so there is no gearbox. It is controlled by a yaw motor which turns the rotor disk into the wind at low wind speeds and out of it at high speeds. Electricity from the generator is processed by 4 PowerOne inverters which convert the electricity to AC and syncronize with the grid.
The tower, hydraulics, blades, sensors and generator were made in China. The inverters are Italian PowerOne Aruoras. The transformers were made in Western Australia. The controller and overall design is from Canada (ReDriven).
PV and Cable
This project also included 8kW of photovoltaic panels supplied and installed by SolaDirect. Wiring and installation of the 700m cable and the transformers at either end was by Allect.
How?
This project was possible because 50% of the funding came from a SEDO RREP grant AND the property has a very high baseload. The farm produces trout and marron, so there are numerous pumps and aerators for the ponds and dams spread across the property including three large pumps that run continuously.
An underground cable was installed to take the output from the turbine to the main load at the fish and marron shed, 700m away.
The wind turbine output was limited to less than 15kW.
Why derate?
Currently, Synergy does NOT pay for exported electricity from businesses nor from renewable energy installations bigger than 5kW, this means the renewable energy plant can only save electricity. Therefore the 15kW limit does not lose the project much income because it would be rare that the power required from the farm is bigger than this. This 15kW restriction also lowered the cost of the cabling and associated transformers.
Had a Feed In Tariff been available, the full output from the wind turbine could have been utilised and the cost of the transmission to the shed saved. (There is an existing 11kV powerline running above the cable route that could have otherwise been used).
Distributer for Australia
SkyFarming is now the distributor of ReDriven Wind Turbines in Australia. Download 1MB mp4 video here.
