Construction has officially begun at the Waddi wind farm in Western Australia, taking the number of new construction starts in the state that once lagged the rest of the country to five, as it races to build enough new capacity to fill the gap from the last of its coal fired generators.
Tilt Renewables held a “sod-turning” ceremony with assistant energy minister and W.A.-based MP Josh Wilson on Thursday at the 108 megawatt (MW) Waddi wind project, located around 150 kms north of Perth.
It is one of two wind projects now being built by Tilt Renewables, along with the 288 MW Palmer wind project in South Australia which, like Waddi, has a long term offtake agreement with AGL, as well as an underwriting contract with the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.
Construction of Waddi is expected to take 2 years. More than 150 workers have been mobilised onsite, laying the foundations for 18 wind turbines, each with a tip height of 206 metres. Early civil works have already started, including internal access roads, site office and the first turbine foundations.
“Starting construction is a great milestone to celebrate, and represents one of the final steps in what has been a truly collaborative effort,” Anthony Fowler, Tilt Renewables CEO said in a statement.
