Blades turning at Mt Gellibrand wind farm

ACCIONA
Acciona's Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm

The first turbine has been switched on and the blades are turning at Acciona Energy’s 132MW Mt Gellibrand wind farm in Victoria.

The 44-turbine project will produce enough electricity to power about 60,000 homes.

“It’s a great moment for the team, the local community and Victoria,” Acciona Energy Australia managing director Brett Wickham said.

“This project represents a $258 million investment in the state and in the Australian renewables sector.

“We are immensely proud to see energy production starting.

“We are also grateful to the local community for their support over the past year, and to all the employees and local contractors for their hard work and dedication in reaching this milestone.”

A commissioning process designed to test the turbines and their electrical connections is now under way.

Construction work began in April 2017 and is now largely complete, with most turbines finished and just a few remaining blades to be installed over the coming days.

Civil, substation and electrical works are now complete, laying the groundwork for commissioning.

The construction of the project followed a public tender process, in which the Victorian Government committed to purchasing the renewable energy certificates generated from 66MW of Mt Gellibrand.

These certificates will contribute to the state’s renewable energy generation targets of 25 per cent by 2020 and 40 per cent by 2025.

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