The construction of Granville Harbour Wind Farm is a step closer to completion, with the 31st and final wind turbine installed at the remote West Coast site on Monday.
Project Director Lyndon Frearson said this marked a major milestone for the project team:
“The installation of 31, 200-metre high wind turbines is no small feat. It involves an enormous amount of planning and preparation work, specialist equipment, a highly skilled construction crew and crucially – the right weather conditions.”
“It’s almost one year since the first wind turbine was erected in November 2019, and it’s been a really challenging time for our construction team – many of whom have spent long periods away from home.”
“This is highly specialist, precision work and involves a significant degree of difficulty, as well as risk. I’m extremely grateful to everyone who has been involved and worked tirelessly to ensure the turbines were installed safely – it’s a significant achievement and reflects a huge team effort,” said Mr Frearson.
Each 3.6 megawatt wind turbine is made up of 12 components and takes a crew of around 30 people to support the build. After installing the final tower sections and nacelle last Friday, the crew had to wait until the wind dropped and weather conditions onsite were right before progressing with the hub and blades on Monday morning.
With the final turbine now installed, further testing and commissioning work will be undertaken in preparation for the wind farm reaching full generation capacity. The wind farm is expected to reach completion by the end of the year.
“Now that construction activities are largely complete, the team onsite is firmly focussed on rehabilitation works to restore the land to pristine pasture for Granville Farm’s 1850-head of prime beef cattle,” said Mr Frearson.
In preparation for the wind farm moving into commercial operations, a six-person Operations and Maintenance crew has been appointed.
Once fully operational, the wind farm is expected to produce 400 gigawatt hours of clean energy every year for Tasmanian homes and businesses.