GE is supplying turbines for what will be the largest wind farm in Australia, as well as the company’s first in Queensland.
GE has announced an agreement with the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF) to supply and install 123 wind turbines for the Coopers Gap Wind Farm at Cooranga North, located 250 kilometers northwest of Brisbane. PARF is a partnership between AGL Energy Ltd. (20%) and Queensland Investment Corp. (80%, on behalf of clients the Future Fund and the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund).
Upon completion in 2019, the 453 MW wind farm will produce approximately 1.51 million MWh of renewable energy annually – enough to power the equivalent of more than 260,000 average Australian homes and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.18 million metric tons each year.
GE will deliver 91 of its 3.6 MW turbines with 137-meter rotors, as well as 32 of its 3.8 MW turbines with 130-meter rotors. GE will also undertake a 25-year full-service agreement to maintain the wind farm over its lifetime.
Coopers Gap Wind Farm is the second major renewables project GE and AGL have announced this year, following the Silverton Wind Farm in western New South Wales. In addition, the development is GE’s fifth wind project to begin construction in Australia in 2017. When Coopers Gap is completed, GE will be responsible for a fleet of wind turbines with a capacity of almost 1.4 GW.
The project is expected to create up to 200 jobs during the peak of construction, as well as an additional 20 ongoing operational jobs. Construction firm CATCON will be responsible for construction.
Pete McCabe, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy’s onshore wind business, says, “Australia is a great market for wind. After the U.S., it is GE’s second-largest region globally for renewable energy. While we see lots of opportunities in Australia, we need to continue to have policy certainty to drive investment.”
