With the commissioning of the 29th turbine complete and the last two going through final certification, Granville Harbour Wind Farm is able to generate at full (100%) output, powering 46,000 houses in the north west of Tasmania.
Clean power output from Tasmania’s ‘newest wind farm’ has helped Tasmania achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2022, a target that exceeds all other renewable energy goals set by Australian state and Federal Governments.
Project Director, Lyndon Frearson, said it had been ‘an exciting moment’ witnessing the completion and energisation of the 112MW Granville Harbour Wind Farm, with final completion just weeks away.
“We’ve been impressed with the quality and reliability of the wind at Granville Harbour and to see output from the wind farm regularly exceeding 90% of the wind farm’s projected capacity now that all turbines have been completed has been fantastic,” Mr Frearson said.
Since the wind farm first generated energy to the grid on 27th February 2020 (with the completion of its first turbine) the wind farm has produced over 170GWh of renewable energy.
“Granville Harbour Operations appreciates the close support of AEMO and TasNetworks as we have worked through final testing and integration of the wind farm with the rest of the Tasmanian power system,” Mr Frearson said.
“The windfarm is already proving its worth as generator in the network and is a key part of the state’s development of new renewable energy resources to achieve its aspirational target of 200% renewables by 2040.
For Granville Harbour Wind Farm to be the actual catalyst for Tasmania achieving its 100% renewable energy target two years ahead of schedule is a remarkable outcome, and one that everyone involved with its development should be very proud of.”
Up to 200 construction personnel were based at the project site, approximately 35km north-west of Zeehan, during the project’s 2.5-year construction program. Numerous other Tasmanians supported the project through their employment with local services and trade providers.
“The Board and Shareholders are delighted to see the windfarm progress toward completion, especially given the extremely challenging circumstances the construction teams have had to work through,” said the Chief Executive Officer of Granville Harbour Wind Farm, Mr Lindsay Ward.
“The GHWF management team have been working closely with the construction team for a number of months to ensure a successful transition and we look forward to taking over operations in the coming weeks.”
Granville Harbour Wind Farm is expected to be one of the most productive and efficient wind farms in Australia – producing around 400 gigawatt hours of clean energy every year. Hydro Tasmania will purchase 360GWh of electricity a year from the Granville Harbour Wind Farm under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).
A team of six permanent personnel will be recruited to operate and maintain the wind farm over its expected 25-year lifespan.