The 270 MW Hornsdale Wind Farm under construction about 220km north of Adelaide has won a contract to deliver an additional 100 megawatts of power to the Australian Capital Territory.
Developed by leading French company Neoen, in partnership with Megawatt Capital Investments, Hornsdale’s latest success came in the ACT Government’s second large-scale wind reverse-auction process.
Hornsdale was also awarded a contract to deliver 100 MW to the territory last February as part of the first reverse auction.
Under the reverse auction, companies were invited to put forward bids to the Australian Capital Territory Government detailing how they could generate the greatest amount of renewable energy at the least price.
South Australian Investment and Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith said Hornsdale could achieve Australia’s lowest known contract price for renewables at $77 per megawatt hour.
“Neoen expects the Hornsdale project to provide enough power for 56,000 Canberra homes and provide 13 percent of the Australian Capital Territory’s projected electricity demand in 2020,” he said.
“Having 200 of the 270 megawatts now allocated means that construction jobs will be secured for the next three years over stages 1 and 2 of the wind farm build, which is great news for the Mid North region.
Construction of the wind farm near Jamestown is underway with commissioning expected to occur in 2017.
Hamilton-Smith said the Hornsdale project reinforced South Australia’s reputation as the nation’s leader in wind energy investment having attracted about 40 per cent of Australia’s installed capacity.
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