Wind storm of green energy is a flat calm

The company's press release declares the resulting capacity factor will approach 70 per cent of installed capacity. However, Price points out that means 70 per cent of 40 MW. That means the average output is 35 per cent, or 28 MWs. That's still well short of conventional generators, but Kennedy's generating profile may be better than the elaborate and expensive solar projects designed for 24-hour operation.

As for pricing of the output, Price declined to discuss specifics for the Kennedy Park project, but typically a wind farm survives by selling both the electricity it produces and the RECs generated for each MWh. At the time of the Rudd government's 2010 decision to swamp the market with RECs, industry sources calculated that wind farms needed a certificate price of about $50 to $60 – in addition to a price for their power of about $40, all adding up to perhaps $90 a MWh – to remain viable.

Qld cheapest, SA most expensive

A regular report from the Australian Energy Regulator, listing average wholesale prices for the different states, shows Queensland had the cheapest electricity at $30 a MWh for 2014-15, and South Australia the most expensive at $45 MWh. NSW's average price per MWh was $38 and Victoria's $36.

In April, Price was reported as saying his company's tiny Coonooer Bridge wind farm, 80 kilometres north-west of Bendigo, would generate electricity at $81.50 per megawatt hour, fixed for 20 years (about the expected life of a wind farm). That price would include the REC generated for each megawatt.

One of the bright spots for the future of the wind industry is that the price of RECs has climbed significantly, with the price for LRECs (RECs for large scale projects) listing at around $72. At that price large projects should be viable but, as we have seen, investment remains subdued.

More projects may also be on the way with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation announcing $350 million in new funding initiatives in September. ARENA's $100 million program will seek bids from major solar PV projects. The CEFC's complementary $250 million financial program will support projects with loan requirements of $15 million or more.

Despite that additional support, while the major retailers have no particular need to hand out power pricing agreements, getting major new projects up and running in Australia remains difficult, and this may take some time to change. There is also the question of just how many more wind farms need to be built. Estimates vary, but Wind Alliance's Bray says he believes about 85 per cent of the capacity needed to meet the target is now in place.

The expected storm of wind and alternate energy projects is proving to be a gentle breeze.