The second stage of one of many world’s largest wind farms is shifting ahead after developer TagEnergy introduced it had closed financing for the challenge.
The $2.6 billion Golden Plains Wind Farm in Australia, which when full could have about 1.3 GW of technology capability, would be the largest wind farm in Australia as soon as totally operational. TagEnergy on June 18 mentioned it had secured non-recourse funding from a worldwide group of lenders, together with the Australian authorities’s Clear Power Finance Corp. (CEFC).
Vestas is the engineering, procurement, and development chief for the challenge, which has its first 756-GW stage underneath development. The second part is designed to have 577 MW of capability.
The wind farm is situated close to Rokewood, a small city within the Golden Plains Shire, about 37 miles northwest of Geelong. The set up is sited on land that’s primarily used for agriculture, together with each crops and livestock. Development of the primary part—Golden Plains Wind Farm-East—started in early 2023. It has 122 Vestas mannequin V162-6.2 MW wind generators from the EnVentus platform. Vestas additionally will ship a 30-year service and upkeep settlement for the challenge, which is anticipated to enter business operation subsequent 12 months.
The second part, referred to as Golden Plains Wind Farm-West, will function 93 Vestas generators with the identical technology capability as these in part one. It’s anticipated to enter business operation in 2027.
TagEnergy is Lead Investor
TagEnergy, shaped in 2019 and a part of the Impala SAS group, is almost all fairness investor and operator of the wind farm, which is also supported by the challenge’s unique developer WestWind Power, which is able to carry out asset administration for TagEnergy.
Australia’s Commonwealth and Westpac banks, Denmark’s Export & Funding Fund, Japan’s Mizuho Financial institution, France’s Natixis Financial institution, the Financial institution of China, and Germany’s Deutsche Financial institution are among the many teams serving to finance the challenge.
“We at the moment are within the crucial decade to scale back emissions and Australia should urgently develop the belongings that can ship extra clear power to the grid,” mentioned CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth in discussing his group’s monetary help. “Golden Plains Wind Farm will play a big position in serving to Australia attain internet zero in addition to changing the power provide that might be misplaced when [the 1,480-MW] Yallourn coal-fired energy station retires in 2028.”
Learmonth mentioned the CEFC used the identical “bridge to contract” financing technique that supported the primary stage of Golden Plains in an effort to fast-track development of part two. “The CEFC capital will allow development to start earlier than Stage 2 secures energy buy agreements, guaranteeing quicker deployment of fresh, inexperienced energy to Victorian customers,” Learmonth mentioned.
TagEnergy CEO Franck Woitiez mentioned of the challenge: “We’re delighted to companion with WestWind to ship what might be a landmark clear power challenge for Victoria and Australia at a scale by no means seen earlier than within the Southern Hemisphere.”
Tobias Geiger, WestWind Power managing director, mentioned, “We’re excited to proceed our work with the local people, TagEnergy and Vestas to ship this thrilling challenge. With an put in capability of greater than 1,300 MW, the Golden Plains Wind Farm’s 215 generators might be able to producing greater than 4,500 GWh of power yearly, roughly 8% of Victoria’s power demand.”
The challenge additionally will function a 300-MW battery storage facility.
Purvin Patel, president of Vestas Asia Pacific, had mentioned when the contract for the wind farm was awarded: “Because the main sustainable know-how and repair supplier each globally and in Australia, we’re happy to companion with TagEnergy and thru our best-in-class power options whereas supporting their bold imaginative and prescient of sustainability by way of the profitable supply of Golden Plains Wind Farm Stage One.”
Energy Buy Agreements
TagEnergy in February of this 12 months introduced a second energy buy settlement (PPA) for the primary stage of Golden Plains. Equinix, a worldwide digital infrastructure group, signed a PPA to take 20% of the electrical energy and inexperienced power certificates (LGCs) generated by the primary stage of the challenge. TagEnergy mentioned that PPA introduced the whole contracted quantity on the primary part to 60%, after Snowy Hydro in 2023 agreed to purchase 40% of the ability and LGCs from Golden Plains Wind Farm-East.
Andrew Riggs, TagEnergy managing companion for Australia, mentioned, “The numerous curiosity in Golden Plains Wind Farm from main business gamers displays the standard and site of our challenge, and their confidence in our skill to ship large-scale renewables tasks.” Riggs added, “We’re proud to enter Golden Plains’ second, important PPA with Equinix. We stay up for supporting them to satisfy their international 100% renewables goal, as we work to drive the power transition and guarantee power safety for future generations.”
Riggs mentioned supply of the challenge has been buoyed by the federal government’s Capability Funding Scheme (CIS), which is at the moment looking for 6 GW of recent wind and photo voltaic capability in its first main tender. “The supportive coverage panorama created by the CIS has given us confidence to begin development of Golden Plains Stage 2 now,” Riggs mentioned.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
