AN ELECTRICAL engineer told me he was surprised that 150 wind turbines could provide enough power for the proposed Wonthaggi desalination plant.

He said by his calculations this number of turbines was based on a capacity factor of 30 to 35 per cent, the proportion of maximum power output given the variation in wind speed. Our calculations revealed that when taking the variable nature of wind into account, this capacity factor is unrealistic and in fact you would require more than 600 turbines.

In South Gippsland, the Toora wind farm was forecast to achieve 40 per cent of its maximum capacity, but it has been operating at only about 20 per cent. After five of the 12 turbines broke down it would be a meagre 11 per cent.

The experience in South Gippsland of underperforming wind farms is not unusual . There is no guaranteed level of power from wind farms so conventional power generation back-up is usually required.

The poor performance of wind farms is causing concern among investors, including the Queensland Government, which has announced that it will be selling its wind farms to fund useful renewable energy projects.

Andrew Chapman, Inverloch

Wind to the rescue

WHILE Andrew Chapman (The Age 10/7) certainly gets points for creativity in arguing against wind energy, he is missing the all-important facts.

The reality is that wind energy in Australia sees capacity factors of on average 35 per cent based on historical output from actual, operating Australian wind farms. Some operational wind farms have capacity factors of 40 per cent or more. Each site is rigorously tested and many developers openly list their capacity factors for specific sites on their websites. Using this actual data, a 150 by two-megawatt turbine wind farm will produce more than 800 gigawatt hours of clean electricity a year, more than enough to offset the proposed Wonthaggi plant's electricity consumption.

While wind is variable, it is well accepted by electricity system experts that smart planning and modern wind forecasting ensures a reliable, clean, zero-emission and zero-water electricity source that will never run out.

Dominique La Fontaine, chief executive, Auswind

Dear Editor,

Auswind CEO, Dominique La Fontaine, should publish her "facts" about wind energy in a forum where they can be scrutinised by the ACCC for accuracy. The realities of the South Gippsland turbines are there for all to see. Five out of 12 turbines at Toora have been broken down for over six months. One of the six turbines at Wonthaggi has been at a standstill for months and a second is looking pretty ill. Actual production figures from Wonthaggi in June 2006 show capacity factors of less than 20%, not the 33% claimed on the developer's website.

German experience clearly demonstrates that only 8% of the installed capacity of a carpet of wind turbines across their country can be relied upon and this figure actually drops to 4% when more turbines are installed. Ie: The more you put in the less reliable they become. Wind forecasting has not helped either but rather proved how intermittent and unreliable wind power really is.

Wind turbines are nothing more than an expensive, inefficient, sick green joke imposed on rural communities and will do nothing to prevent 1,000,000 tonnes of CO2 being created to power Bracks' desalination plant. To quote federal minister Peter McGauran, "Wind power is a fraud."

Yours faithfully

Tim Le Roy

Spokesperson

Coastal Guardians Victoria

31 Lavidge Rd

Ashwood VIC 3147

Tel 0418 121 656