Land of the big blow

Heavy wind profile makes Far North investment hot spot for renewable energy

Records show cyclones kick up FNQ’s biggest gusts

A MASSIVE gust of 146km/h has been revealed as the biggest blow ever recorded in the Cairns region.

Although it happened 62 years ago on March 7, 1956, during Tropical Cyclone Agnes, the Far North’s cyclone-prone terrain has been serving up a smorgasbord of windy weather ever since.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, exposed parts of the Queensland east coast, such as along the Far North are generally the windiest parts of the state.

It’s the region’s breezy reputation that has led to it becoming a hot spot for wind powered energy developments.

Cyclone Larry produced a gust of 113km/h at Mareeba on March 20, 2006, a puff which also features in the top four alltime records for the region.

Ratch executive general manager Anthony Yeates said the company had chosen the Atherton Tablelands to build its two wind farms because of the area’s wind factor and protection from coastal cyclone zones.

Windy Hill, near Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tablelands, has been operating since 2000, while Ratch’s latest wind farm project, Mt Emerald, is being constructed.

“During high wind events, the turbine blades rotate and lock in place to provide the minimal area facing the wind,” Mr Yeates said.

“In March 2006, Cyclone Larry passed directly through the Windy Hill wind farm with minimal damage to the turbines.

“The region is supportive of sustainable energy because of its need to protect its world renowned natural assets,” he said.

The Windy Hill Wind Farm has a generating capacity of 12 megawatts (MW) of electricity and produces about 12,000 megawatt hours (MW/h) per year.

The Mount Emerald Wind Farm, near the small Tablelands town of Walkamin, will contribute an additional 180 MW of renewable energy to Queensland’s network when it’s completed later this year.

“To put that in context, an average Tablelands house uses approximately 7MW/h per year, so the two wind farms between them produce enough power to supply the equivalent of about 80,000 homes,” Mr Yeates said.