Starfish Hill Wind farm

The Starfish Hill wind farm was the first wind farm to be established in South Australia.

 Constructed in 2003 at a cost of $65m it consists of 23 turbines

across two clusters between Delamere and Cape Jervis.

They have a combined generating capacity of 34.5 megawatts of electricity

to meet the needs of approximately 18,000 households.

Each turbine consists of a 68 metre tower.  At the top of this sits the nacelle

which houses a gearbox that transfers the wind

from the 32 metre blades to electricity via a generator.

 

 

Some fast facts:

 

• minimum wind speed required: 4-5 metres per second (16kph)

• optimal wind speed: 15 metres per second (56 kph)

• the turbines are shut down when winds reach gale force speeds (90 kph)

• the blades rotate at between 11 and 17 revolutions per minute

 

 

The gearboxes were recently overhauled in situ to improve efficiency from 76% to 97%.

The estimated CO2 savings are put at 84,000 tons per annum.

Over the 25 year life of the farm this equates to 2.1 million tons.

You can gain a closer look and appreciation of the immense size

of these turbines by taking a drive down Yoho Road at Delamere

which is a short 10 minute drive from Deep Creek Conservation Park.

(click here for map)