Historic Black Rock wind turbine to be memorialised

Community feedback confirms Barwon Water’s plans to memorialise a historic wind turbine at Black Rock.

The Black Rock wind turbine is going to be memorialised.

The first wind turbine to connect to Australia’s electricity grid will be memorialised at Black Rock after it is dismantled later this month over safety fears.

Barwon Water will mount the turbine head and blades on an existing concrete slab, adjacent to the water reclamation plant.

A plaque will accompany the installation, detailing the history of the wind turbine and its significance to Barwon Water’s renewable energy journey.

The wind turbine, located on the corner of Thirteenth Beach and Blackrock roads, was installed as a demonstration unit on Barwon Water land in late 1987.

Works to decommission the structure will be carried out later this month, before the publicly accessible monument is installed in March.

Barwon Water’s Seamus Butcher said the initiative followed community engagement on how best to recognise the wind turbine’s significance.

“We heard from community members that using turbine materials and installing a plaque at the site would celebrate the wind turbine’s history,” he said.

“The wind turbine has become a local landmark, and the monument will ensure it continues to be into the future.”

While six similar turbines were installed in Western Australia earlier in 1987, the Black Rock turbine was the first in the country to be connected to the grid.

Barwon Water purchased the 60kW Black Rock turbine in 2003 and restored it to service soon after, with energy supplied to the Victorian power grid.

The future of the Black Rock wind turbine has been confirmed.

The turbine has reached the end of its operational life, with replacement parts no longer available and its capability long superseded.

A safety and structural integrity assessment has confirmed that dismantling the structure is the only viable option.

Barwon Water has embraced new technologies to create a diverse sustainable energy portfolio, with 100 per cent renewable electricity powering its facilities and services.

This includes the 3-megawatt Black Rock solar farm, which was the first solar installation of its size in the Australian water industry.

The announcement of the Black Rock memorial comes 48 hours after a turbine at the Berrybank Wind Farm, north of Colac, toppled to the ground after strong winds swept through the area.

An exclusion zone was set up around the structure and all turbines were temporarily paused at the large-scale renewable energy project, as WorkSafe inspectors assessed the scene.

Vestas, which is the service and maintenance provider for Berrybank and the Golden Plains wind farms, said severe storms and lightning strikes were being investigated as the cause of the damage.

A spokeswoman said no one was near the wind turbine at the time of the incident and there were no reported injuries.

Originally published as Historic Black Rock wind turbine to be memorialised