Danish wind turbine-maker Vestas has been selected by Alinta Energy, an Australian energy company to supply turbines for the 214MW Yandin Wind Farm to be located in Western Australia.
Image: The Yandin wind farm can generate enough electricity to power 200,000 Australian homes. Photo: Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
As part of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) order, Vestas will supply 51 of its V150-4.2 MW turbines with hub height reaching 105m for maximum performance at the site’s specific wind conditions.
Once built, the wind farm will be connected to Western Power’s 330 kV electricity network via a new 10 km transmission line and terminal station which will be built, owned and operated by Western Power.
Alinta Energy estimates that the wind resources in the region mean that the wind farm’s long-run capacity factor could be around 50%. The wind farm will be located about 175km north of Perth. The project is being constructed at a cost of A$400m ($283m) and could create nearly 150 jobs during the construction phase.
According to Alinta Energy, the wind farm will generate enough electricity to power more than 200,000 homes and is considered to be the state’s largest renewable energy plant.
Once the wind farm begins operations, Alinta Energy will reduce its use of natural gas for electricity generation, which will in-turn reduce the company’s energy production costs.
Vestas will also support operations of the Yandin wind farm through a 25-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM 4000) service agreement for optimised performance of the project. The service agreement includes scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of the wind turbines, electrical and civil balance of plant.
Vestas Australia and New Zealand head Peter Cowling said: “Yandin is a key project for Vestas, Alinta and Western Australia. We are more than pleased to be Alinta’s partner on this project, as we can see enormous potential for wind energy in Western Australia that is perfectly suited to our industry-leading wind turbines.
“Our leadership position in providing complete renewable energy solutions in Australia means we have more knowledge and resources to apply to giving our customers, and by extension, Australian energy consumers, the most productive, reliable and affordable clean energy around. In this way, we will support Australia’s transition towards an energy system entirely powered by renewable energy.”
In January, the wind turbine-maker secured 99MW turbine order in Russia from a joint venture between Rusnano and Fortum. The project will be located in Rostov region. For this order, the company has agreed to supply 26 of its V126-3.45 MW turbines in 3.8MW Power Optimised Mode.