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
