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Snowtown North

Wind power plant in South Australia, Australia. Approximate location -33.714, 138.1402.

WindSouth AustraliaAustraliaOnshore

Snowtown North is a 148 MW wind power station in South Australia, Australia. It is operated by Tilt Renewables. Based on reported annual generation of 355 GWh, it can supply roughly 101k homes. It ranks #134 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2008, it is around 18 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, wind supplies about 13.7% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

148Legacy source-record capacity
355GWh reported / yr
101,428homes powered
2008commissioned (~18 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000005.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySnowtown North WRI
CountryAustralia · South Australia WRI
Coordinates-33.714, 138.1402 WRI
FuelWind WRI
MW installed capacity148 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerTilt Renewables WRI
Commissioned2008 WRI
TechnologyOnshore WRI
GWh reported / yr355 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#134 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#12 of 65 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.24× · 66 MW median · 65 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent101,428 calculated from reported generation
Climate16.9°C · HDD 985 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 36/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 99 MW for Snowtown I wind farm, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 148 MW, Snowtown North is well above the median wind plant in Australia (66 MW). Technically it is described as Onshore. Wind turbines convert moving air into electricity; output is variable and site-dependent, and modern turbines deliver some of the lowest-cost new generation on many grids.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Reported generation trend

2013: 383 GWh20132014: 398 GWh20142015: 342 GWh20152016: 348 GWh20162017: 310 GWh20172018: 355 GWh2018398 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Tilt Renewables.

Local climate & thermal context

This wind plant converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity through turbine rotors. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 33.7°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.9°Cannual mean temp
985heating degree-days (base 18°C)
556cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
128 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 23 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 21 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 11 °CJJ: 10 °CJA: 11 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 16 °CON: 19 °CND: 22 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 60% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 26/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
36/100environmental-severity index
13.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
84 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #12 largest wind power plant of 65 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 65 wind power plants in this dataset, together about 5,786 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -33.714, 138.1402 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Snowtown North?

Snowtown North is a 148 MW source-record wind power plant in South Australia, Australia, commissioned in 2008.

How much electricity does Snowtown North generate?

Snowtown North generates about 355 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Snowtown North power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 101,428 homes.

Who operates Snowtown North?

Snowtown North is operated by Tilt Renewables.

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