Australia’s first commercial wind farm set to be | Australian Markets

Australia’s first commercial wind farm is set to be decommissioned after practically 25 years of operation.

Renewable vitality company Pacific Blue introduced the Codrington wind farm, situated close to Port Fairy in southwestern Victoria, is set to be decommissioned as it’s “approaching the end of its technical life”.

“At this stage, Pacific Blue is not pursuing a repowering option for Codrington,” a assertion from the company mentioned.

“The site’s grid connection would require significant upgrades and today’s turbine siting requirements would preclude the installation of latest generation turbines which can have an output of over five times that of Codrington’s current turbines.

“The company’s analysis considered the limitations of space on the site and necessary upgrades to modernise the grid equipment, ultimately resolving that a new project at Codrington is not financially viable for this location.”

The wind farm has been in operation for 25 years, and was formally opened by former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks in July 2001.

The Codrington web site was described by Pacific Blue as “close to perfect”, because it was positioned to obtain the total power of winds blowing off the Southern Ocean.

Each yr, the wind farm generated enough electrical energy to provide the equal of 10,000 Victorian houses and prevented 49,000 tonnes of greenhouse fuel emissions – the equal of taking more than 17,000 automobiles off the roads, in accordance to Pacific Blue.

More than $9m was injected into the regional financial system during construction and development and about 30 jobs have been created with native corporations contracted to set up roads, foundations, towers, transformers and cabling to make the farm operational.

Pacific Blue mentioned they have been “deeply committed” to partaking with the communities surrounding Codrington and in southwest Victoria all through the decommissioning course of.

“The company also needs to account for the needs and preferences of the site’s landholders, whom it has successfully partnered with for over 25 years,” a assertion mentioned.

“Pacific Blue is grateful for their continued support on this project.”

Pacific Blue additionally mentioned it’s exploring how the 14 wind generators, which have a hub top of 50m and blade tip top of 81m, might be recycled.

“The company is focused on delivering a thorough, respectful, and industry-leading decommissioning of Codrington Wind Farm, which includes exploring recycling options for as much of the site’s infrastructure as possible while upholding safety and environmental expectations,” a assertion mentioned.

The company confirmed the generators will be dismantled by crane.

The company is partaking with industry leaders to discover how best to recycle the blades, with choices efficiently executed abroad up to now together with remodeling them into surf boards and ‘glamping pods’.

Last yr, Queensland MP Mick de Brenni was noticed carrying sneakers constituted of recycled wind turbine blades.

In a assertion, Pacific Blue revealed broader neighborhood and stakeholder engagement was deliberate for the second half of 2025.

Permit situations require the decommissioning to be accomplished within 12 months of the wind farm ceasing to generate electrical energy.

Pacific Blue operates wind farms, hydro plants and photo voltaic farms throughout Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and NSW.

Codrington’s decommission prompted calls to the Federal authorities from the Smart Energy Council to mandate a national product stewardship scheme so “smart energy solutions don’t become tomorrow’s waste crisis”.