Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin

Denmark’s community windfarm is the first and only community-owned wind farm in WA and it recently celebrated 10 years of operation.

Conditions on the day were appropriate for the showcasing of the wind farm as the high winds meant the turbines were working at a 100 per cent output.

The celebration included activities at the Denmark Boating and Angling Club which was also used as the pickup and drop off point for wind farm tours via a small fleet of locally-owned electric cars.

The drivers acted as tour guides and imparted interesting facts about the wind farm.

Passengers learnt that the turbine blades are 44m in diameter and that the energy they produce is enough to run 2000 electric vehicles.

One of the wind farm’s newest directors, Paul Mahoney, with long-time chair Craig Chappelle.

Greens WA MLC, Brad Pettitt, with his daughter Aoife at one of the turbines Emma Pettitt and her family travelled from Fremantle in their Tesla.

Bob Lipinski got a lift up to the turbines in one of the Teslas Denmark Community Windfarm volunteers Lauren Kreuger and Julie Marsh at the event.

The tour also stopped off at the wind farm’s switch room allowing a chance to view the new mural adorning the wall.

Painted by Jeff Phillips, the mural, titled ‘energy-window future’, depicts Denmark’s turbines among the natural landscape and local marine environment.

Windfarm founder and current director, Paul Llewellyn, said even though the wind farm only comprised two turbines they still produced enough energy to power 2000 of Denmark’s 3600 homes.

“We produce about 40 per cent of the total electrical energy used in Denmark which includes powering commercial and industrial sites such as shops, the concrete works and the Water Corporation sewer farm,” Paul said.

“This wind farm also stops more than 6000 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere every year.” During the afternoon there was also a renewable energy question and answer session with a number of experts including Andrew Woodroffe from SkyFarming and hydro-power project developer Colin Stonehouse.

As well as generating electricity the wind farm also generates money via the sale of the energy it produces.

Paul said the Denmark Community Windfarm had long since paid off its financial debt and carbon debt.

It has been able to put an increasing amount of money back into community projects that support a sustainable energy future.

Through a windfarm trust about $200,000 has been given to projects within the local community in the past 10 years.

“I believe we are the biggest philanthropic group in Denmark and we’ve helped fund things like trucks and sheds for the tip shop plus power systems of places like the Denmark Environment Centre,” Paul said.

“We really want to see the electrification of everything in Denmark and that includes households and cars.

“Think of it as Rewiring 6333.” In regards to future plans for the wind farm, Paul would like to see the current turbines replaced with more powerful ones and for two more turbines to be erected on the site.

“This is all dependent on us getting Western Power to agree to upgrade the line or for us to link in with the Walpole Pumped Hydro project.”

See more photos from the event in the issue

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 6 April 2023.