February 8, 2011
Australia

Power plan in the wind

By Dannae Synot, Fremantle-Cockburn Gazette, www.inmycommunity.com.au 8 February 2011

A group of investors has breathed new life into a plan to build a wind farm in Fremantle.

Project manager for Fremantle Wind Farm Consortium Jamie Ally said the group was in preliminary talks with Fremantle Ports to explore the possible establishment of the wind farm to be connected to the city’s main power supply.

The project follows a lapsed proposal in 2008, which Mr Ally said failed due to “commercial reasons”.

He said a commercial arrangement between the consortium and the port had not yet been entered into, as arrangements were still in their infancy and meetings would be held with various State Government departments in the coming weeks – including Energy, Environment and Transport.

Premier Colin Barnett will also be briefed on the project later this month.

Mr Ally said the wind farm would be a significantly viable project requiring little or no financial investment from the Government.

“This project should stand up commercially in its own right if it should go ahead,” Mr Ally said.

A Fremantle Ports spokeswoman confirmed discussions with the consortium were in place after the idea was explored more than a decade ago.

“The potential for a wind farm in the port area was explored previously, following a call by Fremantle Ports in 1999 for renewable energy proposals,” she said.

“As interest has again been expressed from the community, Fremantle Ports is giving renewed consideration to its position on this matter.

“We are looking at all the issues that might be associated with the possibility of a wind farm in Fremantle and will be discussing these with relevant stakeholder groups in due course.”

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said he was supportive of a wind farm in Fremantle, which would involve full public consultation as part of an application process.

“I believe there would be a broad community interest in the project,” he said.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/02/08/power-plan-in-the-wind/