Featuring 38 GE Cypress 5.5-158 wind turbines, the Murra Warra II wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 150,000 homes in Victoria and offset around 500,000 tons of carbon emissions every year.
The wind farm, located north of Horsham, in northwest Victoria, will provide immense benefits for the regional economy, creating more than 400 full-time jobs during the two-year construction period and ongoing employment opportunities in operations, maintenance and project support services throughout its lifetime.
Construction of the project will commence later this year and will be fully commissioned and operational by mid-2022. The first Cypress wind turbine is set to be delivered to the Murra Warra site in mid-2021.
GE has contracted Australian wind farm construction specialist Zenviron as balance of plant subcontractor, responsible for the project’s civil works and electrical reticulation. GE will also be engaging Australian subcontractors for additional work on the project in due course.
Constraints in the local Victorian electricity network required the incorporation of a synchronous condenser into the Murra Warra II project. Drawing on the rotating stabilizer technology of GE’s Power Conversion business, GE Renewable Energy is supporting the grid network in delivering efficient, reliable and zero-emission synchronous inertia whilst stabilizing frequency deviations. This solution meets the Australian Energy Market Operator’s requirements to improve grid stability, demonstrating the depth of complementary technology solutions that GE can bring to a project to ensure successful delivery and operation.
The Murra Warra II project was developed by Renewable Energy System and Macquarie Capital. The project’s transition to the construction phase occurs at the same time as it is acquired by Grassroots Renewable Energy, an investment fund managed by Partners Group.
Murra Warra II is the second project in Australia utilizing the Cypress onshore wind platform, following the Bango wind farm in New South Wales which is currently under construction. The Cypress technology provides significantly increased energy output, increased efficiency in operations, improved logistics and the versatility to perform in a range of site and wind conditions, ultimately delivering more value for customers. In particular, the two-piece blade design enables longer blades to be deployed while overcoming logistical limitations, driving down costs and enabling access to previously constrained site locations.
Leo Cooper, country leader for Australia & New Zealand, said, “GE Renewable Energy has again shown its role as a key player and respected industry partner in the Australian wind energy sector. The Murra Warra II project demonstrates GE’s collaborative partnership with our customers and key suppliers, understanding their needs and expectations and having a unique ability to work across the value chain in onshore wind. This capability underpins the confidence that our customers can have in GE’s technology and project delivery.”
