Portland

I’m sitting in the very small Essenden Airport waiting to go to Portland to visit a wind farm. This tour was set up by Pacific Hydro, and I am very interested to see what the scope and scale of this project is. However, right now, I’m more interested to see the size and scale of the airplane I am getting on!
I made it to Portland and had a great visit. Holly from Pacific Hydro picked me up from the airport and we took a tour of the wind farm. If there is a more model project in the world, I am not aware of it. This is a very large project in its totality, over 180MW, but I am going to concentrate on the Cape Bridgewater project which is a 58MW project. Cape Bridgewater is blessed with several advantages. Strong winds, close connection to the National Electricity Grid, large land areas as well as supportive landowners make this an ideal location for a wind farm. The 29 two-megawatt wind generators rise above some of the most beautiful country I have seen. Cattle continue to roam undisturbed below the turbines as if the large wind towers do not exist. The Cape Bridgewater portion of the project does several things: First, it saves over 250,000 tons of greenhouse gas pollution per year while powering over 35,000 homes in the state of Victoria per year (the total project could power over 100,000 homes). Second, the towers are built locally and the total economic impact is estimated to be over $50 million Australian dollars (direct and indirect impact). It also creates an income stream for the landowners who can continue to raise cattle and sheep while the turbines turn. I pulled up next to several of the turbines and the noise is minimal. On a windy day, the wind easily drowns out the very faint hum of the turbines. Finally, Pacific Hydo has set up a fund that provides direct grants for sustainability projects in the community. In short, Pacific Hydro has taken prime land in Portland, helped develop a local economic boost, cultivating community support while making a real impact through the use of renewable energy. U.S. wind companies could certainly learn much from Pacific Hydro’s example.I was also fortunate to have a meeting with Peter Reefman. Peter is a local builder who is building energy efficient homes as well as being active in the climate action movement. Peter is an extraordinary activist. I found that he had an unusually developed sense of both the ideals that drive activists (i.e. stopping the effects of climate change and creating more sustainable environments) with a very deep understanding of the practical political implications of implementing change. We spoke for over an hour and I came away very impressed with what he is doing in Portland. Peter is changing the world one house at a time.