Wind turbine to generate a different sort of energy – repurposed as children’s playground

Parts of a retired wind turbine will be repurposed as children’s play equipment for at a park in Wonthaggi, south-east of Melbourne – based on a similar project in the Netherlands.

The Bass Coast Council will use the 42 metre blades of two decommissioned turbines to construct what it hopes will become a “destination playground”, the ABC reported on Thursday.

The turbine blades were gifted to the council by Senvion Australia, the owner of the Wonthaggi wind farm.

Mayor Jordan Crugnale says she is excited by the idea, after seeing images of the recycled wind turbine playground built in the Netherlands.

“They could be cut up, they could be as is with things attached to them, who knows, we’ll leave it to the creatives to work that out and also work within the landscape of the park,” she said.

“We will put out an expression of interest for artists and creatives and industrial designers to come up with a concept at Guide Park and take it from there.”

Crugnale also hopes the playground will reflect the shift to renewable energy the region is currently going through.

“It’s great for Wonthaggi, we’ve got the wind farm there already and the town’s transitioning from coal to carbon-free,” she said.

“There’s a lot of interest in the major playground and doing something innovative and a point of difference for the town.

“In my research I found out that coal was actually first discovered in Cape Paterson in Kilcunda, so it kind of looks like this is a first for coal and also a first for Australia using the turbines in a creative format.”

The council hopes the project, on which it is spending $50,000, will become a tourist attraction, as well as a haven for local children.

“The great thing with playgrounds is that they’re equal: anyone can go, it’s free,” Crugnale said.

“It does become an attraction point, especially when they’re not your flat pack off the shelf plastic playgrounds, but a point of difference that’s seen for the area and the town.”