Leighton consortium awarded $130M wind farm contract
THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Leighton Contractors, in consortium with New York-listed advanced technology, services and finance company GE, has been awarded a $130 million contract by the Verve Energy and Macquarie Capital joint venture for the Mumbida Wind Farm development, 40 kilometres South-East of Geraldton in Western Australia.
According to the Leighton announcement the development will generate 55 Megawatts of renewable electricity into the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), which the company says is enough energy to power around 35,000 homes and offset approximately 165,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. It is expected the wind farm will be complete by November 2012.
The project will be delivered by Leighton Contractors and GE through a single Engineering, Procure, Construct (EPC) contract, comprising the wind turbine generators mounted on 85 metre towers, electrical and civil balance of plant and a 22 kilovolt / 132 kilovolt substation.
Leighton Contractors’ Industrial & Energy Division general manager Mark Chilcote said in the announcement that the company was proud to be selected to deliver another fundamental piece of renewable energy infrastructure.
“Wind power in Australia is a proven and mature technology that can be readily deployed,” he said.
“This project will assist Western Australia to further utilise this resource to reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future.
“As a company, Leighton Contractors is committed to developing alternative energy sources in collaboration with our technology partners.
“This announcement is great recognition of our continued expansion in this growth industry.”
Leighton Contractors’ track record for delivering renewable energy projects is beginning to take on substantial proportions.
It now includes the current $1 billion Macarthur Wind Farm in Vicotoria, Lake Bonney Wind Farm and Canunda Wind Farm in South Australia, and the Waubra Wind Farm, also in Victoria.
The Mumbida Wind Farm project will use GE’s 2.5MW wind turbines, which is the company’s flagship onshore wind technology platform, designed for a high level of reliability and featuring industry-leading grid integration capabilities.
“The intelligence and reliability of GE’s wind turbine technology makes it a natural fit with the requirements for long-term renewable energy supply in WA,” GE Energy Tim Rourke chief executive officer said.
“We are looking forward to working with the Verve Energy and Macquarie Capital joint venture to deliver renewable electricity, and significantly increasing the amount of renewable energy in Western Australia.”
The Mumbida Wind Farm will support the Western Australian government’s Energy 2031 Strategy that is designed to meet the state’s rapidly growing energy requirements with clean, reliable power.