Energy From The Wind

Richard Sellick is an electrical apprentice with Energy Australia. He takes SkillsOne around the wind turbines on Kooragang Island. He chats about what's involved in his electrical apprenticeship.

About Energy Australia Pure Energy:

EnergyAustralia is one of the largest energy suppliers in Australia with 100 years experience. Kooragang Island’s wind turbine has been operated by Energy Australia since its installation in 1997.

It provides GreenPower for Energy Australia’s Pure Energy customers. The Vestas V44 wine turbine generator has the capacity to generate 600 kW of electricity.

The turbine workings are housed in the nacelle that sits on top of a 50m high steel tower. Three 22m blades are connected to the hub, which is connected to and supported by the nacelle. The rotor diameter is 44m and the blades sweep an area of 1521 sq metres.

An on-board computer system controls the turbine’s operation. It controls the direction to ensure the turbine is pointed in the optimum direction and also controls the pitch of the blades.

The turbines start when wind strength reaches 14km/h and full output is reached at 58km/h. The turbines will automatically stop at winds of 72km/h or more.

About Richard:

Richard is currently completing his 3rd year of an electrical apprenticeship and he’s enjoying it.

He decided he wanted to do a trade to get ahead as he believes that a trade is always going to be needed in our society.

He knows that there are definite benefits to doing an apprenticeship with such a large company, as there are a variety of talks to perform, lots of people to learn from and a great support network.

He’s passionate about green power as he believes we need to move towards more sustainable energy sources.