Alinta Energy to Set Up West Australia’s Biggest Wind Farm

Alinta Energy has announced that it will construct West Australia’s largest wind farm by mid-2020 after employing prominent global wind company Vestas as its engineering, procurement and construction partner. 

The 214 MW Yandin Wind Farm will encompass 51 (4.2 MW) turbines – which could power up to 200,000 homes per year – and will be positioned near the town of Dandaragan, around 175km north of Perth. The project is estimated to cost roughly $400 million and will generate around 150 jobs during construction. 

 “Yandin will give Alinta Energy a considerable supply of affordable renewable power for our growing electricity customer base. I want to thank our project landowners, the Shire of Dandaragan and Western Power for their support. This is Alinta Energy’s first direct investment in a renewable project, and we’re thrilled to do it here in our home state of WA,” Ken Woolley, Executive Director, Alinta Energy’ Merchant Energy said.

“Yandin will drive more affordable and cleaner energy for us, and with our gas-fired power stations, it will also help us use gas more efficiently. That’ll be good for us, our customers and the environment. The Yandin Wind Farm has been shaped by valuable input from the local community and made possible by a stable energy policy environment in WA,” further Woolley.

The high-quality wind resource in the region means the wind farm’s long-term capacity factor is projected to be around 50 percent. The wind farm will connect to Western Power’s 330 kV electricity network via a new 10 km transmission line and terminal station that will be built, owned and operated by Western Power.

Vestas will operate and maintain the wind farm from completion of construction under a long-term service agreement.