Category: News 2018

6 December 2018

White Rock Wind Farm announced today that it will be supporting 24 projects within the local community for the inaugural round of its annual $175,000 Community Fund.

The aim of the Community Fund is to financially support initiatives and projects that enrich and enhance the local community to the White Rock Wind Farm.

Representative from the White Rock Wind Farm project owner, Brian Hall – Deputy General Manager for CECEP, said that quality of applications was outstanding.

‘We were very impressed by the applications put forward from a diverse range of community groups.

We are extremely pleased to announce 24 projects will be receiving funding in this inaugural round. These projects are diverse in nature – from supporting an art competition, to replacing the windows at the Ben Lomond War Memorial Hall, to assisting the P&C at Glen Innes Public School and many, many more local initiatives.

We would like to thank all applicants for taking the time to apply. We look forward to reviewing many more applications over the life span of the Fund and continuing to contribute to the local community to the White Rock Wind Farm for many years to come.

Applicants that were unsuccessful in the inaugural round are welcome to reapply in the future. Applications for the 2019 funding round will open in March 2019.’ Said Brian.

White Rock Wind Farm has 70 Goldwind advanced turbines installed with a capacity of 175 megawatts. The wind farm powers approximately 105,000 NSW homes with renewable energy each year.

3 December 2018

Director of Lacour Energy, Mark Rayner, said State and National planning approvals have been secured for the Clarke Creek Wind Farm and it is now being prepared for construction to commence in 2019.

‘The project has now received Federal Government approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). Earlier this year, the wind farm project received Queensland Government planning approval for up to 195 wind turbines and approval was earlier secured for a 400 MW solar farm and a large utility scale battery.

‘The combination of wind, solar and battery represents a very large-scale integrated renewables power station located at one of the strongest locations of the Queensland power system – no grid extension is required. Importantly, the wind resource is night biased, complementing daytime solar production.

‘The project economies of scale drive a competitive cost of electricity, support investment and economic development in regional Queensland and will make a significant contribution to the Queensland Renewable Energy Target.’ said Mark.

Lacour Energy has partnered with Goldwind to deliver the Clarke Creek Integrated Wind, Solar and Battery Power Station project. With a generation capacity of 800 MW, the wind farm component of the project is set to be the biggest wind farm in Australia. Goldwind will supply up to 195 wind turbines to the project and manage construction works.

Goldwind Australia Managing Director, John Titchen, said Goldwind manages all its projects with a focus on local business participation and local employment.

‘We are now seeking expressions of interest for the Balance of Plant tender process for the full civil and electrical works for the wind farm and we will shortly launch the Clarke Creek Local Business Participation Program.

‘This Program will be a key initiative to identify capability and capacity in the local community and maximise opportunities for local subcontractors and suppliers to participate in the project. This program has proven successful for projects currently under construction in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

‘The Lacour Energy team have done excellent work identifying and developing this project. Wind conditions have been measured and shown to match very well with Goldwind’s latest advanced wind turbine technology. As is expected in this region, the solar resource has also proven to be very high quality.’ commented John.

The project, located 150km Northwest of Rockhampton, will have a construction cost totalling over $1.5 billion, with up to 350 jobs expected on site during construction of the wind farm and up to 25 permanent staff during operations.

Once operational, the wind farm production will be enough to power around 590,000 Queensland homes, supplying around 4% of Queensland’s electricity, and making a large contribution to the achievement of the Queensland Renewable Energy Target.

Goldwind Australia announced today that it will be installing the innovative IdentiFlight® aerial monitoring and detection technology system as one of the key initiatives to mitigate Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle impacts at Cattle Hill Wind Farm in the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

IdentiFlight’s tower-mounted optical units are designed to detect flying objects and then use algorithms to identify them as eagles within seconds. If an eagle’s speed and flight path indicate a risk of collision with a wind turbine, an alert is generated to shut down the specific wind turbine.

Sixteen IdentiFlight units are to be installed at the Cattle Hill Wind Farm. The location of the towers is designed so they will be able to detect eagles and shut down any of the 48 turbines as necessary.

John Titchen, Goldwind Managing Director, said Cattle Hill Wind Farm will be the first wind farm in Australia to trial this newly available innovative aerial monitoring and detection technology.

‘Goldwind Australia understands the importance of balancing the need for clean, renewable energy whilst protecting Tasmania’s unique wildlife, particularly the endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle.

Goldwind is very pleased to have partnered with Identiflight to apply this recently developed innovative technology to reduce impacts on the Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle.

We look forward to sharing the results of this first Australian trial following installation.’ said John.

President of Identiflight, Tom Hiester, said IdentiFlight is pleased to be partnering with Goldwind.

‘We developed IdentiFlight to promote the successful coexistence of avian wildlife and wind energy. Results from IdentiFlight trials on wind farms in the US have demonstrated its effectiveness in mitigating impacts on the iconic bald and golden eagles.’ said Tom.

Construction of the Cattle Hill Wind Farm commenced earlier this year and is progressing well with the first wind turbine foundation expected to be poured shortly.

Once operational, the wind farm will power approximately 63,500 Tasmanian homes. This increases Tasmania’s on-island renewable energy generation capacity by approximately 5 per cent and contributes to Tasmania’s ambitious target of becoming fully self-sufficient with renewable energy by 2022.

Goldwind Australia has celebrated a key project milestone for Moorabool North wind farm.

The foundations for three turbines have been completed, after a concrete pour consisting of 500m³ of concrete. Further foundations and access track construction will continue with turbine component delivery and erection beginning early next year.

Moorabool North and Moorabool South wind farms consist of up to 107 Goldwind advanced technology turbines. Once operational, together, they will produce clean energy to power approximately 230,500 Victorian homes.

Goldwind Australia is performing the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) role during construction of the project and will then perform the ongoing Warranty, Operations and Maintenance (WOM) role once the project is operational. Goldwind Australia has appointed Zenviron as the Balance of Plant construction contractor for the project.

‘Goldwind Australia is very pleased to have achieved the first wind turbine foundation pour at Stockyard Hill Wind Farm. We have significant ongoing plans in Australia, Goldwind also has the Moorabool Wind Farm in Victoria and Cattle Hill Wind Farm in Tasmania under construction. Further projects are planned, including the Coppabella Wind Farm in NSW.’  said John Titchen, Managing Director for Goldwind Australia.

The first concrete pour for a wind turbine foundation was completed for the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm yesterday. This is the first of 149 wind turbine foundations to be poured on the wind farm site, prior to the installation of 149 Goldwind advanced technology wind turbine generators.

Construction for the project is progressing smoothly with access tracks now constructed to over 15 wind turbine locations and five foundations now prepared for their first concrete pour.

Goldwind Project Director for the wind farm, Andrew Monahan, said ‘With the first foundation poured in the south of the project and winter now behind us, we will continue with the remaining 148 foundations over coming months. The project continues to progress on other fronts with blades and other large infrastructure due to start arriving on site in October.

We would like to thank the local community for their ongoing support of the project. The project team aims to continue to keep local disruption from construction to a minimum. We provide regular updates outlining the construction progress and encourage interested community members to drop into the project information centre in Beaufort if they have any questions.’ said Andrew.

The project is expected to create up to 300 jobs during construction peaks on site and employ up to 25 permanent maintenance staff once the wind farm is complete. Once operational, Stockyard Hill Wind Farm will produce clean energy to power approximately 391,000 Victorian homes.

Unique opportunity to invest in a portfolio of over 1 GW of renewable energy generation development across three Australian states that will have a project value of over $3bn when constructed, providing investors with significant scale and geographical diversity.

The portfolio, led by global leader in wind power solutions Goldwind in conjunction with a number of development partners, includes large wind and solar colocation projects, as well as several wind projects across Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania, all promising excellent natural resources and grid connectivity.

All the projects have executed land rights and are either DA approved or securing DA approval process is underway or commencing. The wind power sites will be supplied with Goldwind turbines and supplemented by Goldwind’s development capability.

The sale process will target existing participants and new entrants to the Australian renewable energy market who intend to accelerate growth of their Australian pipeline.

PwC have been appointed to run the sales process and will conduct a two-round auction of the portfolio.  Buyers are encouraged to reach out to PwC’s Sally Torgoman if all or part of the portfolio is of interest.

Ning Chen, Vice President Investment and General Manager of Goldwind Capital Australia said ‘Goldwind has been supplying Australian homes with clean energy since 2012. We have a strong track record in the Australian market and trusted relationships with our customers, partners and local communities.’

Business highlights:

• All wind sites have established wind and solar data measurements with site specific energy estimates.
• Transaction process allows for flexibility to acquire either 100% or a majority interest in the portfolio of projects.
• Geographical diversity reducing site specific generation risks to investors

Goldwind is proud to be a founding signatory of the Clean Energy Council’s Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Developments. The charter aligns with our values and reflects our commitment to bringing value to local communities and sharing the benefits of renewable energy.

The Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Developments is a voluntary set of commitments for Clean Energy Council members designed to communicate clearly the standards that the signatories will uphold in the development of current and new clean energy projects.

View the Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Developments

14 June 2018

Today, key project partners joined Goldwind Australia at a Ground-Breaking Ceremony to mark the commencement of construction for the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm project.

Goldwind Australia’s Managing Director Mr John Titchen, said he was pleased to celebrate this significant milestone for the project.

“We’re pleased to host the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Origin Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Frank Calabria, and many other key project construction partners and stakeholders, including representatives from the state and local government, financiers and our host landowners.

“Construction for the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm is now underway, and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with our many stakeholders to construct Australia’s largest wind farm,” Mr Titchen said.

Origin Energy has underpinned the development of the project through a long-term power purchase agreement to buy all the power generated by the wind farm and the associated renewable energy certificates until 2030.
Origin Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Frank Calabria said

“Having been involved in the project’s development for many years, we’re delighted to see the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm move a step closer to reality and congratulate Goldwind on reaching this significant milestone.

We are very pleased to be buying all of the renewable power from Stockyard Hill, as adding low-cost renewable energy will continue to put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices, and help deliver more affordable energy to Australian homes and businesses.”

The Stockyard Hill Wind Farm will comprise of 149 Goldwind advanced technology turbines with a total capacity of 530 megawatts (MW).

Goldwind Australia will provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction services to the project and the Warranty, Operations and Maintenance services once the project is operational. Goldwind Australia has appointed a joint venture between SNC-Lavalin and WBHO as the Balance of Plant contractor for the project.

The project is expected to create up to 300 jobs during construction peaks on site and employ up to 25 permanent maintenance staff once the wind farm is complete.

Once operational, Stockyard Hill Wind Farm will produce clean energy to power approximately 391,000 Victorian homes.

6 June 2018

Goldwind Australia supports the Battery of the Nation project. As Australia’s energy market transitions in the coming decades, Tasmania can make a significant contribution to meeting the increasing requirement for reliable, flexible and dispatchable energy generation.

John Titchen, Managing Director of Goldwind Australia, said “Tasmania’s existing hydropower catchments and existing hydro storage can support larger hydro-electric turbines.  The existing hydro water storage capacity is very large – several orders of magnitude larger than other energy storage technologies.

By coupling upgraded hydro generation with a substantial increase in transmission connection capacity to Victoria, Tasmania can make a huge contribution to dispatchable power supply needs in the National Electricity Market. This will become increasingly necessary as old large coal plants retire, leaving a gap in dispatchable generation capacity.”

Increased connection to Victoria will also enable Tasmania’s excellent wind resource to be further developed, boosting the state’s economy through investment, development and jobs.  Additional renewable energy capacity will contribute to meeting Australia’s emissions reduction target.

Tasmania currently meets 90 per cent of electricity needs from on-island renewable energy sources – mainly hydro and wind power. Goldwind is leading the construction of the Cattle Hill Wind Farm, located in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. Once operational, Cattle Hill Wind Farm will halve the gap to achieving Tasmania’s energy policy objective of achieving 100 per cent energy self-sufficiency through renewable power generation.