The 240 MW Ararat Wind Farm, located in Victoria, Australia, has received its first shipment of GE turbine blades.
Co-owned by Renewable Energy Systems, Downer Utilities and GE, the project is Australia’s third-largest wind farm, the developers say.
The GE blade shipment, marking the halfway point of the project’s construction, weighs in at over 2,000 tonnes (approximately 2,200 tons) and consists of 225 50-meter turbine blades. The delivery will see the Ararat Wind Farm switch to its full employment capacity of 165 workers over the two-year development period.
“The arrival of the blades marks the next phase of construction that will see work start on the installation of 75 wind turbines that will generate electricity to power around 120,000 homes per annum, or about six percent of Victorian households,” says Trevor Cohen, executive director of Downer Utilities.
The project benefits from a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Australian Capital Territory Government (ACT). The PPA, which was awarded under the ACT’s Wind Auction announcement in February 2015, guarantees the purchase of approximately 40% of energy produced at the site.
