The Codrington Wind Farm which began operations in 2001 will cease in 2027, and stands as a significant milestone in Australia's renewable energy journey.
Codrington wind farm was Australia’s first privately owned wind farm and with the announcement to decommission the farm in 2027, it's a poignant reminder of the evolution of wind energy infrastructure and its impact on local communities and the industry.
As the trading manager at Powercor Australia in the late 1990s, I believe we executed the first Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a privately owned wind farm owner in Australia. This agreement with Pacific Hydro (now Pacific Blue), for Codrington wind farm not only paved the way for this project, but also became a template for further developments in the region, including the larger projects at Yambuk and Portland
Unlike wind farms today, the 18MW Codrington wind farm is connected to the distribution network and has a hub height of only 50m, almost a third of Golden Plain’s wind farm hub height of 149m.
The excitement surrounding the Codrington wind farm during its early years, including the official opening by the State Premier and school tours, highlighted the community's engagement with renewable energy.
My family, along with other families, used the beautiful seaside and historic fishing township of Port Fairy as our summer retreat; just down the road from Codrington. We visited Port Fairy for so many years that as our children grew into young adults, they refused to holiday with us, leaving my wife and I to travel alone.
I can recall one summer when the kids were late primary school and early secondary school age, I attempted to be a candidate for Father of the Year. I proudly suggested we undertake a tour of the Codrington Wind Farm. The kids protested, so my nomination was thwarted. However, they begrudgingly came along anyway.
Upon arrival, we met the daughter of the farmer’s property who leased the land to Pacific Hydro. The entrepreneurial family placed a 20 foot container on site and using a trusty angle grinder to cut an opening, created the kiosk and ticket booth. We purchased our tickets and then jumped on the minibus for our tour. For me, it was fascinating to see the project come from an idea to reality; but unfortunately, my kids did not share my enthusiasm.
My disinterested son has now grown up and lives in Sweden with his partner and their 5 year old son. Each summer, they come for a lengthy visit to enjoy the Australian summer. Upon arrival this year, my grandson asked whether he can go and visit a … wind farm. It must be in our DNA.
I told him that the biggest wind farm in Australia is being built in Victoria and we could go see it. He was so excited and then asked, “Is it bigger than wind farms in Sweden?” With confidence I said, “I’m sure it is, … but let’s check”.
We jumped onto Dr Google, and what did we learn? There is a 3,400MW wind farm in north Sweden under construction, nearly 3 times Golden Plains wind farm. The discovery of the 1,101 turbine wind farm in northern Sweden certainly places Australia’s developments in perspective, emphasising the rapid advancements and scale of wind energy projects worldwide
For those who know the Codrington and Port Fairy area, it is very windy, and the weather can be wild. We learnt over many years camping in the Gardens Caravan Park what equipment would survive the wild winds and weather of Port Fairy. We would watch first-time campers to the area proudly erect their sun shelter canopies; and through bitter experience we knew that within a few days it would be destroyed. Bent poles, tears in the canopy - you name it; it would not survive.
For Pacific Hydro it was the kick-start of the emerging business as it forged the pathway for many other projects. The formula of undertaking development, obtaining approval, arranging finance aided by a credible off-taker, and finally construction has been a formula repeated across the industry many times.
Years later after the original Pacific Hydro staff had moved on, I would hear rumblings from the finance team about the poor Codrington PPA price. I would smile and kept quiet as the PPA price is etched in my memory bank. It was another favourable transaction that benefited Origin Energy when Powercor Retail was acquired. It fairness, the PPA was signed before the Renewable Energy Target legislation was passed, so there was certainly risks with the transaction.
As the years moved on, I have become a consultant and have advised how to hedge wind farms. We explored the idea of wind farm swaps, where an expected energy output from wind farm would be swapped with another wind farm. Whilst we proved it would help diversify the spot revenue and firm the generation, it was difficult to transact between two willing parties.
The next problem was to determine the best risk-adjusted base swap contract quantity (or number of retail customers), that should be sold against a wind farm. This problem is solvable and differs from one wind farm to another, and from one quarter to another, taking account of the season and changing value proposition. This problem continues to be addressed today, along with more complex portfolios of hybrid farms etc.
The journey of the Codrington Wind Farm—from its inception to impending decommissioning—serves as a microcosm of the broader evolution of renewable energy in Australia. It encapsulates the challenges, triumphs, and personal connections that define this transformative technology.
This article was inspired by my Grandson, Noah
