A renewable energy company has released plans to build the largest land-based wind farm outside of China in Western Australia’s booming energy corridor.
Spanish-owned Acciona Energy wants to build about 400 6.2-megawatt turbines as part of its 3-gigawatt Bellwether project in the state’s south-west.
The proposed wind farm would dwarf the nation’s next largest developments, including the 1,330-megawatt Golden Plains wind farm in Victoria and Acciona’s own 1,000-megawatt MacIntyre project in Queensland.
It would also considerably outsize the proposed 100-turbine Ambrosia project near Collie, currently the largest wind project proposed for WA.
The turbines would be built on 100,000 hectares of farmland across the shires of West Arthur, Williams, Wagin and Narrogin, south-east of Perth.
Biggest outside China
Acciona WA General Manager Jeff Nitsch said the project proposed to start construction in 2028, with the wind farm to be one of the largest in the world once operational.
“The [MacIntyre] project in total scale is about 1,000 megawatts, the proposed Bellwether wind farm project could be two to three times that scale,” he said.
“At that size, it could be the largest onshore wind farm outside of China.”
He said the company was in talks with landholders and local governments regarding the proposed development, but anticipated Acciona could be exporting power to the grid in six years.
Jeff Nitsch says the wind farm will be one of the largest in the world. (Supplied: Acciona Energy)
Green Energy Markets director Tristan Edis said the completed project stood to be the most productive in Australia and one of the largest developments of its kind.
“Every major economy has a significant wind power component to their electricity system, and that is expanding, whether that be the United States, Canada, Germany, UK, etc,” he said.
“It’s a very substantial project in global terms.”
Who is buying gigawatts of power?
If the developer’s estimates prove correct, the project could produce similar levels of power as the Collie power station, set to be decommissioned by the end of the decade.
High voltage powerlines connecting to power stations in Collie, WA. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
But Mr Edis said infrastructure to connect the development to the South West Interconnected System was needed, along with customers to buy the gigawatts of electricity.
“They will need a long-term purchaser of the energy to make this project what they call bankable,” he said.
“In Western Australia, you generally need the involvement of Synergy, the state-owned retailer, or you need Alinta who’s one of the major private sector retailers, or you need one of the large industrial consumers of electricity.”
Balancing renewable energy development and agriculture remains a key challenge for policymakers. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
Towns want more support
The majority of the 400 turbines, with a span of 160 metres and standing about 220 meters tall, are expected to be built in the Shire of West Arthur.
The proposal has been tentatively welcomed by some residents, like third-generation farmer Karen Harrington.
She said her family would support the development if the balance between energy and agriculture was maintained.
“It could be a real bonus, it could almost ensure the sustainability of our small towns,” she said.
“There needs to be more guidance from the state government with protecting agricultural land, but we welcome these renewable energy projects.”
The turbines would stand 220 meters tall and span 160 meters from tip to tip. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
Energy Minister Reece Whitby said he was working with the private sector to develop new sources of renewable energy as it worked to retire all state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030.
What has locals concerned?
Challenges balancing the enormous developments with existing agricultural land use have been an ongoing sticking point for local governments.
West Arthur Shire president Neil Morrell described the farms as a cash cow for some and a burden for others.
“It’s quite exciting really, mainly for the people who are going to have wind turbines on their farms, they’re going to have a huge increase in income,” he said.
West Arthur shire president Neil Morrell says some residents don’t realise how big the wind farm will be. (ABC News: Amelia Searson)
“But the people looking in from the outside are going to have to put up with the sight of them, if there is any noise coming from them and the infrastructure leading up to the wind turbines.”
Mr Morrell said he was unsure if residents in the region understood the true scale and impact of the project.
“It’s going to put the Shire of West Arthur on the map,” he said.
“I don’t think they actually [residents] realise how big it’s going to be.”
