TagEnergy's $4B Project in Victoria Becomes Largest Wind Farm in the Southern Hemisphere - Renewable Energy Magazine
The 1,333MW Golden Plains Wind Farm, comprising the 756MW Stage 1 and 577MW Stage 2, will deliver 9% of Victoria's energy when completed in mid-2027.
With finance and all agreements now in place, construction of Stage 2's 93 wind turbine generators will begin, with TagEnergy buoyed by the supportive policy environment created by the Australian Government's Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).
Extending its initial project partnerships into the next phase, TagEnergy has entered into a new Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract with global turbine supplier Vestas, appointed AusNet Services to undertake the grid connection works and WestWind Energy as the asset manager.
"We couldn't be prouder to be delivering the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere," said TagEnergy's Managing Partner – Australia, Andrew Riggs.
"This mega-project materially improves Victoria's energy security, puts downward pressure on electricity costs and dramatically reduces carbon pollution. Together with our partners, we are accelerating the energy transition," Riggs said.
TagEnergy's decision to commence construction of Stage 2 reflects the new supportive policy landscape enabled by the government's CIS scheme encouraging investment in renewable energy generation.
"The supportive policy landscape created by the CIS has given us confidence to start construction of Golden Plains Stage 2 now," he said.
"Commencing construction will maximize project delivery certainty and strengthen the competitiveness of our bid in the upcoming CIS auction. Our Stage 1 construction progress has been excellent and demonstrates our ability to deliver. These site teams, who will also construct Stage 2, really share our vision for a clean energy future," Riggs said.
"The diligence and expertise of the grid connection teams at Vestas and AEMO Victoria who leveraged best practices developed during the adjacent 756MW Golden Plains Wind Farm Stage 1 connection process reduced the assessment period from nine months to five months," Riggs said.
Project partners welcomed financial close and fast tracking of construction on the vital project for Australia's renewable energy future.
Vestas Senior Vice President, Country Head of Australia & New Zealand, Danny Nielsen, said, "Through our best-in-class wind turbines and capabilities, Vestas is delighted to build and service this landmark project,"
Golden Plains Wind Farm Stage 1 is expected to start producing green energy in the first quarter of 2025, with Stage 2 to follow in mid-2027.
Once complete, Golden Plains Wind Farm will provide enough clean energy to power more than 750,000 homes - the equivalent of every home in regional Victoria.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.