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Collgar Wind Farm

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High over the West Australian wheatbelt, 111 tall white wind turbines turn, each casting a shadow like a sundial across the fields.

It’s the Collgar Wind Farm, and it’s fully owned by Rest. We’ve invested your super in wind energy since 2011, which means Rest members have been doing their bit to keep the lights on in a more sustainable way. 

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What's a wind farm?

A wind farm is made up of lots of wind turbines grouped together. When the wind spins the blades, the turbines convert the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity, which feeds the grid and powers houses, businesses, and industry. 

Why wind power?

Australia, like many other countries, has committed to the Paris Agreement, a global treaty that aims to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to keep warming to less than 1.5°C. One way to contribute to these goals is to replace fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy sources. Wind is one of the main types of renewable energy, along with solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass.

Rest’s investment in Collgar aligns with the Australian government’s emissions reduction target and with our target to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the fund by 2050. Investments like Collgar Wind Farm will help us get there.

Breeze through Collgar stats

  • Collgar Wind Farm is in Western Australia, 25km outside Merredin and about 3.5 hours east of Perth.
  • When it was built in 2011, Collgar was Australia’s largest wind farm.
  • Collgar has nearly doubled the amount of renewable energy in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), WA’s main electricity network, which serves a million customers.
  • Each of Collgar’s 111 turbines has a trio of three six-tonne blades, each 44m long. They’re spread across 18,000 hectares of mixed agriculture farms.
  • Collgar generates 630-750 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year and sells it to Synergy, WA’s state-owned electricity utility. That’s enough electricity to power up to 150,000 homes. 

Wind turbines in a sparse field Wind turbines in a sparse field

What’s good about Collgar Wind Farm?

Collgar generates and supplies clean, renewable electricity, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on imported fossil fuels. There are also significant economic benefits for Merredin and nearby regions.

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Energy output

Collgar’s current output is equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off our roads or planting nine million trees per year!

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Local community

During construction, Collgar employed up to 150 people over two years, and it has contributed over $1.2m to local projects and community groups since 2012

Contributions

Income for farmers

The farmers on whose land the turbines are located earn rental income

plant lightbulb icon

Energy output

Collgar’s current output is equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off our roads or planting nine million trees per year!

group icon

Local community

During construction, Collgar employed up to 150 people over two years, and it has contributed over $1.2m to local projects and community groups since 2012

Contributions

Income for farmers

The farmers on whose land the turbines are located earn rental income

How Collgar powers our members’ super

Collgar Wind Farm is a great example of how Rest contributes to Australia’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to meeting climate goals. By investing in wind energy, Rest is aiming to achieve long-term returns for our members and at the same time is supporting a shift to a cleaner economy.

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