Decommissioned wind farm sends old turbines to school, others back to work

Wind turbines from one of Australia’s first commercial wind farms are being repurposed at new wind farm sites or donated for research, in a bid to avoid waste and “inspire” the next generation of the renewables workforce.

The Esperance wind farms on the south coast Western Australia include the nine-turbine Ten Mile Lagoon project, commissioned all the way back in 1993, and the six turbines added at Nine Mile Beach in 2004.

(The state’s very first wind farm – and Australia’s first ever commercial project – was Salmon Beach, also near Esperance, with six turbines commissioned in 1987.)

WA utility Synergy started the process of decommissioning the Esperance wind farms in 2022, once the option of repowering them was ruled out.

As RenewEconomy explains here, repowering old turbines – that is, replacing them with newer models, as opposed to decommissioning, which is when a site is returned to its previous state and use – is one of the preferred options for wind farms that have reached the end of their operation lives.

But Angie Young, Synergy’s executive general manager of thermal generation, says both of the Esperance wind farms are no longer required and have been inactive for a number of years, leaving re-use and repurposing as the next most sustainable options for the old turbines.

To this end, Synergy says two of the Esperance turbines will be donated to North Metropolitan TAFE for students studying clean energy, while another six will be repurposed at new wind farm sites.

“Sustainability is a core focus at Synergy and we are committed to ensuring the site’s infrastructure will be reused and repurposed,” Young said on Monday.

“We’re excited to be able to support our future workforce by donating some of the turbines to North Metropolitan TAFE, furthering renewable energy education in WA.”

North Metropolitan TAFE managing director Michelle Hoad says the used turbines are headed to the tafe’s Midland campus, which will be home to the state’s first Clean Energy Training Centre.

“This donation will give students the opportunity to work on real industry infrastructure to gain the skills they need to enter the clean energy workforce,” Hoad said on Monday.

“It is integral to North Metropolitan TAFE’s mission to skill Western Australians for a clean energy future.”

Of the remainder of the decommissioned wind farm’s infrastructure, Synergy says internal road bases and tower concrete foundations will be donated to the Town of Esperance for reuse in the Goldfields-Esperance region – a project that is expected to be completed by end of this year.

The dismantling, transportation and refurbishment of the wind turbines will be undertaken by WA company Advanced Energy Resources.