The Great Southern Joint Development Assessment Panel has given Moonies Hill Energy conditional approval for a stage of the proposed Flat Rocks Wind Farm.
Moonies Hill Energy director Sarah Rankin says construction of the wind farm could commence in late 2014, early 2015. Construction had originally been intended to commence in 2012/13.
If fully developed, the Flat Rocks Wind Farm will be a 150 MW project. Situated 25km south east of Kojonup, in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, the facility will produce 562,000 GWh of electricity annually – enough to power 90,000 homes – and avoid up to 451,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.
Moonies Hill Energy says the project would inject $130 million into the local community over its lifespan – $30 million during construction and $5 million a year during operation.
The Flat Rocks Wind Farm will host 74 wind turbines perched on 84m towers and will be compatible with existing agricultural activities such as stock grazing and broadacre crops. After construction, the facility will occupy less than 1% of productive farmland.
The wind farm will spread over 6 farming operations and across two shires. The five landowners involved will all be financial beneficiaries of the project.
The wind farm will be patched into the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) via the proposed 330kV Muja-Wellstead transmission line, construction of a 132kW line into the Kojonup substation or via the existing 132kV line that traverse the southern part of the project area.
Electricity produced by the Flat Rocks wind farm will be sold into the SWIS under a commercial agreement.
As part of the project, Moonies Hill Energy will establish a Sustainable Communities Fund to operate during the life of the wind farm that will provide support for surrounding community programs.
