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Denham Wind & Diesel System

Denham Wind FarmDenham, an isolated town about 800km north of Perth on the Shark Bay peninsula, has one of the most advanced wind turbine systems of its type in the world.

The use of Australian designed and built smart control technology, together with the advanced variable speed wind turbine, has made this system a world leader.

Denham's wind-diesel system is made up of four wind turbines and three low-load diesel generators.

The fourth wind turbine was added to the town's wind farm in August 2007. It is an Enercon E33  - an updated version of the three E30 230kW machines which were installed in 1997 and 1998.

The turbines will provide at least 40% of Denham’s electricity requirements.  The new wind turbine is expected to produce annual fuel savings of 780,000 litres and offset 2400 tonnes of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions.

Should the wind drop, the power station immediately increases its output ensuring a continual supply of electricity to the town.

Its isolation has meant Denham has had to rely on diesel engine driven generators for its electricity. This has meant high costs and a reliance on importing diesel into the region.

The technology

The German designed 230kW Enercon wind turbines are variable speed "inverter coupled" machines, which mean they are at the cutting edge of wind turbine technology.

A computer at the power station automatically controls the system to meet Denham's power needs and react in emergency situations. This control system was designed and manufactured by Powercorp.

Overall monitoring and analysis of the Denham system is maintained from Perth using special remote monitoring equipment.

Powercorp installed a more advanced control system in March 2000 to control the three wind turbines, four diesel generators and a flywheel energy storage system. During the testing phase, it was decided that the flywheels, sourced from Europe, did not provide the necessary performance required.

A better flywheel was developed in WA in 2002. An advanced diesel generator was modified to operate as a 'low load diesel' (LLD®) and installed in May 2003. The LLD® runs continuously reducing the number of operating conventional diesels. Unlike conventional diesels, the LLD® can reduce its output and fuel consumption to very low levels to allow the wind farm to supply more of the town's load. A second LLD® was installed in 2004, and the wind farm now supplies 2,000MWh of electricity to Denham each year.

 

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program. The Program is implemented by the State’s Sustainable Energy Development Office in Western Australia.

 

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Denham Wind/Diesel System brochure (PDF 171KB)

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