Ararat Wind Farm Consortium last week announced a deal with Keppel Prince in Portland to supply 35 towers for its clean power plant.
“This project will now deliver jobs not only to Ararat but to Portland as well,” said Dan Tehan, Member for Wannon. “It is vitally important that renewable energy projects use as much local content as possible.”
Mr. Tehan says the deal should see at least 30 new jobs at Keppel Prince; which has been Australia’s largest producer of wind towers since 2001 and has worked on some of the largest wind farms in the nation. The company also supplies structures for hydro power stations, wave energy installations and solar farms.
The announcement is particularly good news for Keppel Prince given it was one of the first casualties of uncertainty concerning the Renewable Energy Target last year. The RET situation contributed to a reduction in its workforce of approximately 100 full time employees.
“This project will re-establish Keppel Prince as the premier wind tower manufacturer in Australia and provides opportunities for local employment,” said Keppel Prince General Manager, Steve Garner. “We hope this will be the start of a successful period in the development and execution of large scale renewable energy projects across Australia.”
The Ararat Wind farm will be located approximately 9km – 17km northeast of Ararat in Victoria. Comprised of 75 wind turbines up to 3.4MW each, the facility will produce enough electricity for up to 123,000 average Victorian households; approximately six per cent of the state’s residential power requirements. The Consortium says it will unlock a $450 million investment within the region.
Part of the project includes the Ararat Wind Farm Community fund that will see approximately $75,000 from the facility’s revenues being donated to good causes in the local community annually.
Ararat Wind Farm was one of the winners of the ACT’s first wind energy reverse auction. Its winning bid was $87 per megawatt-hour for 80.5 megawatts capacity.
The 240MW facility will be constructed by RES Australian and has been financed by RES, GE, Partners Group and OPTrust.
