AGL wind farm purchase puts SA in front

Adelaide Advertiser
Saturday 12/5/2007 Page: 83

AUSTRALIA'S largest retail energy supplier, AGL, has bought the development rights for a second wind farm in South Australia. The 71 megawatt wind farm, acquired from Wind Prospect, at Hallett Hill, is about 20km from another 95MW Hallett Wind Farm that AGL is currently building in the area.

Acting Infrastructure and Energy Minister Jay Weatherill welcomed the move, saying it meant SA led the nation in wind farm development with about 40 per cent of the nation's wind farm capacity. "If the development proceeds, SA will have 800MW of wind farms delivering clean green energy to consumers," he said.

The plant would add to SA's stable of six wind farms in operation and another three under construction. AGL managing director Paul Anthony said the development was an important addition to AGL's renewable generation asset base. "The Hallett Hill development could provide enough renewable energy to power 40,000 average Australian households and abate approximately 250,000 tonnes of CO2," Mr Anthony said. He said that by the end of the decade AGL could be operating 134 wind turbines in SA with a combined capacity of 255MW.