First wind projects fired up in Australia
Setting the scene
BayWa r.e. took its first steps into the Australian renewable energy market in 2017, starting with utility scale solar projects, then quickly turning its attention to onshore wind.
After acquiring local developer Future Energy and its project pipeline, we immediately moved forward with the development of two wind farms in the state of Victoria.
Meeting the challenge
Located approximately 17km north-east of St. Arnaud and 10 kms south of Timboon, the sites were chosen for their undisturbed wind flow with strong consistent wind speeds, close proximity to the electrical grid, and large setbacks from nearby dwellings.
Construction on each farm was carried out in three phases, beginning in 2018 with construction of the access tracks, fitting construction pads, and then laying the foundations and the underground cabling.
With project sites amongst the windiest in the state of Victoria, specialised cranes with highly skilled operators were required to install the four wind turbines. And then finally, we commissioned, tested and connected the wind farm to the local electricity grid ready for the export of energy to begin.
Getting the result
Construction for each of the Timboon and Yawong wind farms was completed within six months, and together their capacity of 14.4 MW will produce enough clean energy to power 9,000 Australian homes.
Both were sold together with 15-year O&M contracts with Vestas in place, and PPAs secured to sell 100% of the power to Alinta Energy.