In 2018, 10 wind farms around Australia opened their gates to the public for an informative open day events. Approximately 500 community members attended the Mt Gellibrand wind farm to see the recently completed facility for themselves.
The Mt Gellibrand wind farm was a keen participant in this national initiative. The community relations and marketing teams organised the event, hoping to engage and educate the local community near Mt Gellibrand. Visitors were taken on bus tours around the site, stopping at one of the turbines where they got out for a closer look and were able to experience first-hand what a wind turbine looks and sounds like up close.
Staff members hosted tours and answered questions. Most of the questions were related to how the wind farm actually works, the building process, the measurements of the components and how the company manages energy production.
Visitors were fascinated to learn that as well as ACCIONA’s local control systems, all 44 turbines are also managed from Spain. A global control centre monitors their settings 24/7, and the team there can adjust their settings remotely, turbine by turbine, from the other side of the world.
The Open Day was a very positive engagement experience for staff and community members.