Siemens Ltd and Neoen Australia have signed a contract to build Australia’s newest wind farm, which will help the ACT government meet its 90 per cent renewable energy target by 2020.
ACT Minister for the Environment Simon Corbell said the Hornsdale wind farm was an important part of the ACT’s plan to supply 90 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable sources.
When up and running the Hornsdale wind farm will supply about a fifth of the territory’s electricity needs.
Siemens has more than 30 years experience in wind power and has built around 13,000 wind turbines around the globe with a total capacity of 21 GW. Siemens Australia is the turn-key builder of the wind farm and local head of energy David Pryke said the project demonstrated a win-win for all stakeholders.
“The new Hornsdale wind farm is good for the economy, good for the environment and, importantly, good for Australia,” Pryke said.
The project supports the Renewable Energy Centre of Excellence at the Canberra Institute of Technology, it includes employment, training and investment in both the ACT and South Australia providing benefits to the Hornsdale community for the life of the project.
Neoen Australia managing director, Franck Woitiez, said that since 2012, Neoen has developed directly and indirectly, more than 1.5GW of renewable energy projects in Australia.
"The Hornsdale Wind Farm is our second project starting construction this year," he said. Siemens will provide 32 Siemens 3.2DD-113 wind turbines complete with associated civil and electrical infrastructure.
Siemens will also maintain the wind farm for Neoen on a long -term maintenance contract signed simultaneously with the EPC contract.
The turbines utilise a novel low-speed generator design, coupled directly to the 3-blade rotor. The Hornsdale wind farm will rank among the most technically-advanced and economically-efficient in the world. It will produce over 400 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually, enough to provide clean, emission-free power for more than 70,000 typical Australian homes.
Each turbine is driven by three blades, each being 55 metres in length. They are of a single piece construction, made from fibreglass-reinforced epoxy resin.
As a result, all glue joints – the potential weak points that could expose the structure to cracking, water ingress, ice formation and lightning – are eliminated. Weighing in at over 60 tonnes, each turbine rotor spins at up to 16 rpm.
The height of each tower at over 90 metres is taller than the flagpole above Parliament House Canberra and the swept area of the blades from a single turbine is greater than the field area of GIO Stadium Canberra. The combined swept area of the turbines is 320,000sqm, about three and a half times larger than the footprint of Parliament House Canberra.