Northern Argus
26/09/2007 Page: 5
The performance of the first wind turbine installed at AGL's Hallett Hill Wind Farm since March 2007, has confirmed the viability of the Brown Hill range as a terrific site for the generation of wind-powered energy. The construction of another 44 wind turbines at Brown Hill range is on schedule as the project enters an intense period of work over the next four to five months. "We will have 12 operational turbines by the end of the year, with a further 12 turbines in January 2008, another 12 in February 2008 and the balance operational by the end of March 2008,"AGL's Project Manager for the Hallett Hill Wind Farm, Steve Oswald said.
"The civil works are complete, the roads and electrical collection systems are complete. Now we'll be erecting the towers and turbines themselves. "We currently employ about 40 people at the site, and we'll be working up to a peak of 60 people. "We source a portion of the labour locally, although some of the equipment, for example the large 1000 tonne cranes, have work crews that travel with the machines." The wind farm will provide long term employment to five or six operators and maintainers who will probably be based at Jamestown.
"The local area has a number of very good sites and AGL has purchased rights to install further turbines at the Bluff and at Hallett Hill. It is expected AGL will make its investment decision on Hallett Hill in the next six months." The Hallett Hill extension alone would add a further 71.4 megawatts to the Brown Hill range project which will produce 95 megawatts of electricity, itself enough to supply green energy to 60,000 average Australian households. On completion in March 2008, AGL's Hallett Wind Farm will be the biggest wind farm in Australia.
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