Preparations are now under way for the construction phase of White Rock Wind Farm in New South Wales to commence late this year.
Owners of the wind farm, Goldwind Capital Australia, announced earlier today that TransGrid has agreed to connect White Rock Wind Farm to the NSW transmission system.
“TransGrid has a strong track record with Goldwind, delivering critical connection works on time and within budget, ” said John Titchen, Managing Director of Goldwind Australia.
The NSW Government has approved construction and operation of up to 119 wind turbines at the site in northern New South Wales, situated between Glen Innes and Inverell; near the village of Matheson
70 wind turbines will initially be constructed at the site as part of stage 1. Goldwind says it will install its 2.5MW Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) wind turbines, which have a 121m rotor diameter.
Once operating, stage 1 of the White Rock Wind Farm will have enough capacity to supply up to 75,000 average NSW households. The facility should be operational by mid-2017.
Up to 200 people are expected to be involved in the construction phase of White Rock Wind Farm and a local service team of 10 – 15 will be required during its operational life of 25 years.
Founded in 1998 in Xinjiang, China, parent company Goldwind Global is a major player in the wind sector. The company says its newly installed wind capacity for 2014 ranked it number one in China and the fourth largest in the world. By the end of last year, Goldwind’s total installed capacity exceeded 24GW.
Goldwind’s first Australian project, Morton’s Lane (19.5MW), has been operational for more than 2 years. Its second project, Gullen Range Wind Farm, is the largest wind farm in New South Wales. Gullen Range was grid connected in 2013 and fully operational in December last year.
Bloomberg reports Goldwind is also studying the potential for a hybrid wind and solar power project in Australia.
Goldwind Global’s Chairman is Wu Gang, one of the pioneers of China’s modern wind sector. Winner of the World Wind Energy Award in 2006 for his role in advancing the global wind industry; in 2009, Business Week declared him to be one of “China´s Most Powerful People.”
