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Australia’s First Commercial Wind Farm Faces a Careful Farewell as Its Iconic Turbines Reach Retirement
Nestled atop the rolling green hills overlooking Port Fairy in southwest Victoria, Pacific Blue’s Codrington Windfarm has long stood as a symbol of Australia’s renewable energy future. Celebrated as a ‘close to perfect’ location for wind power, this pioneering site has quietly generated enough electricity to power 10,000 homes annually while preventing nearly 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Now, nearly 24 years after it first spun to life, the farm’s 14 towering turbines—each standing 50 metres tall—are approaching the end of their 20-year lifespan, making them some of the first of their generation to reach retirement.
Pacific Blue is embarking on an ambitious and carefully planned project to dismantle these giants. Rather than opting for the quicker but more disruptive method of explosives, the company is choosing a slower, more community-friendly approach: cranes will painstakingly take down each turbine in reverse order of their original assembly.
“A decision was recently made that all turbines at the Codrington Wind Farm will be disassembled onsite through the use of cranes,” a Pacific Blue spokesperson told Renew Economy. “We aim to lead the renewables industry not only in power generation but also in responsible turbine decommissioning.”
This meticulous process marks the end of an era for one of Australia’s renewable energy trailblazers—signaling both respect for the past and a commitment to sustainable futures.
