Milsearch Completes Dandaragan's Yandin Wind Farm Project

 

Milsearch completes Unexploded Ordnance Remediation of Yandin Wind Farm in Dandaragan.

Decmil Group Limited, on behalf of Vestas and Alinta Energy, appointed Milsearch as specialist contractor to complete the geophysical survey and remediation of potential unexploded ordnance contamination, prior to the commencement of any construction works.

Comprising 51 turbines and due for completion in 2020, Yandin Wind Farm is Western Australia’s biggest wind farm located approximately 175km north of Perth. 5km south of Dandaragan. The designated 7.5ha project area overlapped the former Cataby Artillery Range, the former Dandaragan Artillery Range and the former Yatheroo Field Artillery Range.

Due to its extensive working history in Western Australia, Milsearch is well aware of the geological nature of the area and the types of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) that might be encountered. After being awarded the project following a successful tender process, Milsearch deployed its Western Australia based survey team to conduct a 100% UXO survey and remediation of the area.

Milsearch’s Chief Operating Officer, John Halmarick, commented “Milsearch has a great deal of UXO experience in Western Australia and we are delighted to be working with Decmil Group Limited on a project as significant as Yandin Wind Farm. The renewable energy sector is a key market for Milsearch and we are also pleased to continue our relationship with Vestas, which has seen Milsearch provide UXO expertise on windfarm projects in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.”

Redgum Village Dandaragan.

Vestas Windfarm Projects

Vestas passes 1GW mark for wind orders in Australia in 2018, with 184MW WA project

Global wind energy giant Vestas notched up more than 1GW of turbine orders in Australia over the course of 2018, as the large-scale renewable energy market continues to boom Down Under.

The company reached the milestone in late December, after winning the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a 184MW wind farm in Western Australia, a project being developed by Bright Energy Investments.

The Warradarge Wind Farm, which is on track to begin construction later this year in the state’s mid-west, has since been given the green light by the WA state government

The site for the wind farm, near the town of Eneabba, has been praised by both Vestas and newly appointed state energy minister Bill Johnston for its “abundant” wind resource.

“The wind farm will have a total output of 180 megawatts with a 50pc capacity factor – the equivalent of the average annual electricity needs of 135,000 WA homes,” Johnston said in comments earlier this month.

“The state government remains committed to ensuring a transition to a renewable energy future at the lowest cost possible to WA taxpayers.

“By developing renewables projects, we are demonstrating our commitment to ensuring our State meets its 2020 Large-scale Renewable Energy Target obligations.”

Vestas says the project will feature 51 V136-3.45MW turbines delivered in 3.6MW Power Optimised Mode with hub heights of 84 meters to maximise performance in its specific wind conditions.

The wind farm also signals a new focus for Vestas on the WA market , which has lagged behind the rest of Australia on large-scale wind and solar installations.

This happily coincides with a new focus on large-scale renewables by the Labor McGowan government, which late last year opened up the state’s south-west interconnected network to just under 1GW of new big solar and wind, and appointed a new energy minister – Johnston – to shepherd the process.

“We are extremely pleased to work with Bright Energy Investments on this project,” said Vestas Asia Pacific President Clive Turton in comments.

“It has extraordinary wind conditions and will make an important contribution to powering Western Australia with competitive renewable energy.

“After the Warradarge Wind Farm comes online, Vestas will have an installed base of 561MW in Western Australia, expanding our service footprint and capability to support future projects in the state.”

Bright Energy Investments (BEI) is a joint venture between state-owned gen-tailer Synergy, global infrastructure fund DIF and super fund Cbus.

The group’s general manager of investments, Tom Frood, said the “high calibre of the parties involved” and the appointment of Vestas would ensure that wind farm was delivered on-schedule.

“Synergy has a strong history in Western Australian solar and wind assets, and is committed to increasing its renewable energy portfolio, and Vestas’ rich industry expertise and proven track record will ensure that the first power generation is on track for 2020”.

Vestas has also signed up to a 30-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximise energy production for the lifetime of the project.

Western Australia’s biggest wind farm in the Shire of Dandaragan

 Construction of WAs biggest wind farm kicks off

A sod turning ceremony today marked the official commencement of construction at the Yandin Wind Farm, Western Australia’s biggest wind farm in the Shire of Dandaragan around 175km north of Perth.

•          Sod turned and virtual turbines displayed at Yandin Wind Farm
•          $50,000 p.a. community fund launched

Landowners, community members and project partners gathered at the site for a sod-turning ceremony and high-tech virtual reality experience.

Attendees were invited to visualise the placement and scale of the finished turbines through virtual reality headsets.

Ken Woolley, Alinta Energy’s Executive Director of Merchant Energy, said the event was about celebrating the contributions of project partners, the community and landowners. 

“Today we’re saying thanks to the landowners, local community and others that helped us get to this point. We’re on track to have the wind farm up and running by the second half of 2020.

“Western Australia has some tremendous renewable energy resources, and we believe the Yandin Wind Farm will harness one of the best, if not the best wind resource in the country.

“I’m also happy to announce the we’re about to open up applications for a community fund that will contribute at least $50,000 to projects and groups within the Shire of Dandaragan each year.

“The fund will be split into two rounds a year of $25,000 each, with further details available on the project website,” said Mr Woolley. 

Brent Bailey, CEO of the Shire of Dandaragan, said the sod turning was an important step in the Shire’s plan to make the area WA’s renewable hub.

“The Yandin Wind Farm is a great example of the Shire of Dandaragan’s desire to be recognised as the centre of renewable energy in WA, and it’s terrific to hear the project partners talk about the region’s potential.

"Our aspiration to be the centre of renewable energy in WA is driven by input from our community, so I hopefully speak on their behalf when I say we are looking forward to the project becoming operational. We also welcome contact from other developers who would like to investigate how the Shire can support them to make our vision a reality,” he said.

The 214 MW Yandin Wind Farm will comprise 51 (4.2 MW) turbines. The project is expected to cost approximately $400 million and will generate around 150 jobs during construction.

Between January and June 2020, over 50,000 tonnes of turbines and machinery will be transported to site. The project will require close to 1 million hours of labour, which will be dedicated to constructing the wind farm to highest standards.

The turbines will only occupy around 0.03% of the project site, which means farming and existing land uses can co-exist.

The high-quality wind resource in the region means the wind farm’s long-term capacity factor is projected to be around 50 per cent, which may be the country’s highest.

The wind farm will connect to Western Power’s 330 kV electricity network via a new 10 km transmission line and terminal station that will be built, owned and operated by Western Power. 

Notes to the editor
Project website


Media contact
Julian Polachek, julian.polachek@alintaenergy.com.au, 0403 590 339

Article compliments of Alinta Energy WA

 

Warradarge Wind Farm

THE Shire of Coorow is welcoming of the State Government’s announcement that it has given the go-ahead for construction to begin at the 180-megawatt Warradarge Wind Farm, near Eneabba.

The Warradarge Wind Farm has been recognised as one of the best renewable energy projects in Australia due to its location and abundant wind resource, according to Energy Minister Bill Johnston.

Its 51 turbines will be among the largest in WA with a tip height of 152 metres, sporting some of the longest blades onshore at 66 metres.

Coorow Shire president Moira Girando, Marchagee, said any investment into the region was welcome especially if it would create local jobs and boost tourism.

Ms Girando said the Shire had a declining population and she hoped that the renewable energy industry could create more employment in the area to help control that.

She said the Shire has a “long term (10 year) plan” to install solar panels on “all council run buildings”, staging it so as not to be a burden on ratepayers.

In the announcement made before Christmas, Mr Johnston said the Warradarge Wind Farm project would be funded and developed by Bright Energy Investments (BEI) – a partnership between Synergy and the private sector launched by the State Government in April.

Mr Johnston said the sustainable energy solutions company Vestas, which claims “more than 17 per cent of the global installed base” from wind farms, has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction, as well as operations and maintenance contracts.

“I’m delighted to announce the construction of the Warradarge Wind Farm will be going ahead and will create up to 200 jobs for Western Australians,” Mr Johnston said.

“The wind farm will have a total output of 180 megawatts with a 50pc capacity factor – the equivalent of the average annual electricity needs of 135,000 WA homes.

“The State Government remains committed to ensuring a transition to a renewable energy future at the lowest cost possible to WA taxpayers.

“By developing renewables projects, we are demonstrating our commitment to ensuring our State meets its 2020 Large-scale Renewable Energy Target obligations.”

Western Power will construct the 10-kilometre transmission line from the wind farm sub-station to the network connection point near Eneabba.

Other BEI projects include the Albany Grasmere Wind Farm and Greenough River Solar Farm near Geraldton.

Vestas Asia Pacific president Clive Turton said he was “extremely pleased to work with BEI on this project”.

READ MORE: New windfarm to be built near Eneabba and the Redgum Village in Dandaragan

“It has extraordinary wind conditions and will make an important contribution to powering WA with competitive renewable energy,” Mr Turton said.

“After the Warradarge Wind Farm comes online, Vestas will have an installed base of 561 megawatt in WA, expanding our service footprint and capability to support future projects in the State.”

BEI general manager Tom Frood was confident that the Warradarge Wind Farm would be delivered “smoothly and on-schedule”.

“Synergy has a strong history in WA solar and wind assets, and is committed to increasing its renewable energy portfolio, and Vestas’ rich industry expertise and proven track record will ensure that the first power generation is on track for 2020,” Mr Frood said.

Commercial operations at Warradarge Wind Farm are scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2020.

The specifics announcement by the State Government were somewhat different to the details in the Urbis Planning Compliance Report 2012.

The report however said that “the proposed Warradarge Wind Farm will result in minimal onsite modification to the existing rural landform and minimal modification to vegetation in the Rural zone” in the Shire of Coorow.

“Whilst it is acknowledged that the Wind Farm will be visible from surrounding local and regional locations, these views are limited as a consequence of the distance of the site from developed areas such as Coorow, Leeman, Greenhead, Eneabba and Carnamah,” it said.

 The State government has given the go-ahead for construction to begin at the 180-megawatt Warradarge Wind Farm, near Eneabba.

The project will be funded and developed by Bright Energy Investments (BEI) - a partnership between Synergy and the private sector launched by the McGowan Government in April.

World-renowned sustainable energy solutions company Vestas has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction; and operations and maintenance contracts.

The Warradarge Wind Farm is recognised as one of the best renewable energy projects in Australia due to its location and abundant wind resource.

Its 51 turbines will be among the largest in Western Australia with a tip height of 152 metres, sporting some of the longest blades onshore at 66m.

Western Power will construct the 10-kilometre transmission line from the wind farm sub-station to the network connection point near Eneabba.

Other BEI projects include the Albany Grasmere Wind Farm and Greenough River Solar Farm near Geraldton.

Energy Minister Bill Johnston predicted the construction of the wind farm would create up to 200 jobs for Western Australians. 

“The wind farm will have a total output of 180 megawatts with a 50 per cent capacity factor - the equivalent of the average annual electricity needs of 135,000 Western Australian homes,” Mr Johnston said.