TrustPower and Siemens to build South Australia’s largest wind farm

TrustPower has appointed Siemens as its turnkey supplier to construct South Australia’s largest wind farm at Snowtown, using gearless drive wind turbine technology for the first time in Australia.

With the project formally reaching financial close today, the Snowtown II wind farm development will be capable of generating 270 MW of renewable energy and powering approximately 180,000 South Australian homes.

Siemens CEO Jeff Connolly said he is pleased to have the opportunity to deliver the gearless drive technology to TrustPower.

“Our broad project responsibility for this critical piece of sustainable infrastructure is the result of our confidence in the South Australian construction environment and a further extension of our existing commitment to support the state’s development,” said Connolly.

TrustPower, a New Zealand electricity company, awarded Siemens the contract to engineer, procure, construct and maintain a full turnkey solution for 90 wind turbines including the substation, switchgear and transformers to connect the wind farm into the grid.

“The wind farm will be built with the most advanced renewable energy technology on the market. Of critical importance to us was the proven capability to build and connect wind farms to the grid and Siemens as a global supplier has achieved this in some of the most challenging environments in the world,” said the CEO of TrustPower, Vince Hawksworth.

David Pryke, Head of Siemens Energy, said Snowtown offers some of the most ideal wind conditions for the production of renewable energy.

“The wind technology chosen for the project is ideally suited to the Snowtown II site, featuring state-of-the-art gearless drive systems and highly efficient rotor blades, allowing us to maximise the delivery of reliable renewable energy from this project,” said Pryke.

The Snowtown II wind farm will cement South Australia as the lead generator of renewable energy, having already exceeded the nation’s 20% by 2020 renewable energy target with 26% of South Australia’s electricity now generated by wind. South Australia has now set a target of 33% renewable energy by 2020. The new Snowtown II wind farm is set to help achieve this target.

Snowtown II is co-located with the existing Snowtown wind farm, which will more than triple the renewable energy generation of the region. Early preparations have commenced at the site with construction commencing this month to ensure the project is fully operational by the end of 2014.