Home > Industry Projects
Collgar Wind Farm, Australia
| Objective of the Project | Collgar wind farm is one of the largest wind farms being developed in Western Australia. The wind farm is being set up in a 13,000ha private freehold land situated 25km from Merredin. With a capacity of 206MW, Collgar is expected to produce more power than the combined output from Emu Downs and Albany, which host two of the biggest wind farms in the region. The wind farm will feature 111 turbines in the first stage of development, generating 790,000MWh of renewable energy every year. The electricity generated is sufficient to power more than 125,000 homes. A further 16 turbines will be added in the second stage, bringing the total number of turbines to 127. |
| Starting date | 0000-00-00 |
| End date | 0000-00-00 |
| Budget | 750 millions $ |
| Sectors involved | wind energy |
More about the Projet
![\"\"](\"http://www.vertadnet.com/display/www/delivery/ai.php?filename=pt-pands%283%29-300x250.gif&contenttype=gif\" "\\"\\"")
Investec Bank was the original sponsor of Collgar wind farm development. In March 2010, however, Investec sold the project to UBS International Infrastructure Fund and Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST) of Australia. Collgar is the first greenfield acquisition made by the UBS fund. It is also the fund\'s first investment in Australia.
Financial closure of the project was achieved at the end of March 2010 and pre-construction works on the site have already started. The construction of the wind farm is scheduled to begin in June 2010 and is expected to be completed by April 2012. The project is likely to create 200 jobs during the construction phase and 20 jobs in the operational phase.
Collgar wind farm financing
The estimated cost of the Collgar wind farm is A$750m. The project is being financed collectively by ANZ, National Australia Bank (NAB), Westpac, WestLB, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF), the Danish export credit agency. Allens Arthur Robinson acted as the adviser to the financiers group.
Wind farm development
The Collgar wind farm project was initiated in 2007 by a joint venture (JV) between Collgar wind farm and Windlab Systems, with Investec Bank as the sponsor.
Windlab Systems identified the current site as a potential location for the wind farm in mid-2006. A feasibility study of the site was conducted by Windlab using its Windscape technology, which concluded the site to be suitable for the project. The chosen site is characterised by consistently strong wind regimes and is close to the local electricity grid.
Bayley Environmental Services was contracted in February 2008 to conduct technical assessment of the site. Based on the assessment report, the JV partners obtained planning permission for the project from Merredin Shire Council on 23 September 2008.
The project was issued \'non-control action\' under the Commonwealth EPCB Act, which means that the project development does not require environmental approvals from the Commonwealth Environment Minister.
Collgar farm construction
Pre-construction works at the Collgar wind farm site, including site preparation and geotechnical investigation, commenced in November 2009. These early construction works will be completed by mid-April 2010, following which mobilisation and full scale construction will commence.
The installation of turbines will begin in January 2011. The project is expected to enter the initial operational phase in August 2011.
Collgar wind farm details
The wind farm project includes 111 turbines and an onsite substation that connects the wind farm to the 220kV Perth-Kalgoorlie transmission line.
The turbine generators are of the V90-1.8/2.0MW model from Vestas Wind Systems. The turbine supply contract placed with Vestas includes the installation, operation and maintenance of the turbines for ten years during ongoing operations at the wind farm. The three-bladed turbines are rated at 1.856MW each and have a rotor diameter of 90m.
Vestas is expected to place the first set of turbines on site by the second or third quarter of 2010.
Wind farm technology
The V90 turbines to be installed in the wind farm come with a six-gear yaw system and are equipped with a software called VMP Global, which assists in the control and automatic management of the turbines. The turbine transformers being integrated with the nacelle helps to minimise power losses occurring during transmission.
www.power-technology.com/projects/collgarwindfarm/
