Austrailian Government wants more wind farms

The Australian State Government wants to see 400 more wind turbines built in Victoria in the next two years, including backing plans for a wind farm at Pittong. Clean energy company Hydro Tasmania is in the preliminary stages of consulting with landowners over a potential wind farm in the area. The details of the proposal are still unclear, but it is believed the company is considering a site west of Pittong, incorporating the Pyrenees, Corangamite and Golden Plains shires. Minister for Energy Industries and Resources Theo Theophanous said the State Government would not be bullied by the Opposition on this issue. "We have a problem of energy consumption and greenhouse gases throughout the world," he said. "Victoria has to play its part and one way in which we can do that is to introduce renewal energy sources like wind power.

"We are going to push ahead with more of these sorts of projects because we want to try and install 1000 megawatts of electricity from wind over the next two years. "We now only have 100 turbines installed but we've got another 400 in the planning stages so we have a way to go. "Each turbine produces roughly two megawatts of electricity so we would need about 500 pylons spread across the state to achieve 1000 megawatts." Mr Theophanous said he was aware that an application had been made for Pittong and the State Government was keen to see more turbines built away from the coast. "We're keen to promote wind power, but it all depends on the economics in the end," he said. The area's wind potential was identified in the Victorian Wind Atlas launched by the State Government last month.

Hydro Tasmania spokesman David Jeffrey said the company was currently "prospecting" to gauge the potential of the site and the views of landowners. He said if landowners signed up to the project, wind monitors would be installed within about 12 months, with construction unlikely to begin for at least another three years.