GE to supply 32 turbines for Engie’s South Australian wind farm

GE Renewable Energy has won a contract to supply and install 32 wind turbines for an 119MW wind farm project being built by Engie subsidiary Willogoleche Power in Australia with an investment reported to be at A$250m ($198m).

In this regard, GE will be supplying 24 of its 3.8MW and eight of its 3.4MW turbines for the Willogoleche Wind Farm, located 160km north of Adelaide in South Australia.

The turbines will each have a tip height of 150m above ground level while their blade rotor diameter will be 130m.

Australian construction company Catcon has been given the contract by Engie for building the 119MW wind farm at Willogoleche.

GE Australia, New Zealand & Papua New Guinea president & CEO Geoff Culbert said: “We have seen tremendous momentum in the Australian wind industry this year.

“This will be our fourth wind farm to begin construction in 2017, with more than 300 GE turbines either operating or under construction across the country, capable of powering the equivalent of more than 500,000 Australian homes with renewable energy.”

Construction of the turbines for the Willogoleche Wind Farm is expected to begin by the end of the year with a target to complete the project in mid 2018.

Once operational, the South Australian wind farm will produce enough wind power to meet the energy consumption needs of 80,000 households.

GE Renewable Energy president & CEO Jérôme Pécresse said: “In Australia, we are now working on nearly $2 billion in wind farm projects, representing more than 900MW generation capacity.

“This is an incredibly important region for GE globally, and we are committed to supporting Australia achieve its renewable energy goals while maintaining reliable and affordable electricity supplies to businesses and households across the country.”

According to Engie, the Willogoleche Wind Farm will be connected to the Australian power grid through underground cabling. For this purpose, a new ElectraNet substation is being constructed in the region.

Image: GE's 3MW onshore wind turbine. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.