The 209-MW Murra Warra II wind farm in Australia to be powered by GE Cypress turbines
Today, GE Renewable Energy announced contracts for the
construction and operation of the 209-MW Murra Warra II wind farm in Victoria,
Australia.
The wind farm will use 38 GE Cypress 5.5-158 wind turbines and
will generate enough renewable energy to offset 500,000 tons of carbon
emissions annually, said GE. The project supports the Victorian renewable
energy target of 40% by 2025.
According to the companies, the wind farm will benefit 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 begin later this year and the
wind farm is expected to be fully operational by mid-2022. The first Cypress
wind turbine is set to be delivered to the Murra Warra site in mid-2021.
GE has also contracted Zenviron as balance of plant subcontractor,
responsible for the project’s civil works and electrical reticulation.
Constraints in the local Victorian electricity network required a
synchronous condenser into the Murra Warra II project. Drawing on the current
rotating stabilizer technology, GE is supporting the grid network in delivering
zero-emission synchronous inertia while stabilizing frequency deviations. This
solution meets the Australian Energy Market Operator’s requirements to improve
grid stability.
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 company said that 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.
The Murra Warra II project was developed by Renewable Energy
System (RES) and Macquarie Capital. The project’s construction phase occurs at
the same time as it is acquired by investment funds managed by Partners Group.
