$85m bonanza

Portland Observer
Friday 7/12/2007 Page: 1

Portland-based Keppel Prince Engineering is set to pounce on the growing renewable energy market with contracts worth $85 million in the pipeline for 2008. It will provide work for an extra 40 to 50 workers in Portland giving the company an early Christmas present. The company has secured a $50 million supply and installation contract of wind turbine towers for Acciona Energy's 192 megawatt Waubra Wind Farm. It has also secured an $11 million contract with REpower for 22 towers at the Cape Nelson section of Pacific Hydro's Portland Wind Energy Project.

Keppel Prince general manager Steve Garner said the company was also in the final stages of negotiations and hoping to secure contracts for other projects including:

• An $11 million contract to supply of 20 towers for Suzlon's Canberra wind farm, with delivery earmarked to start in June.
• A $6.5 million contract to manufacture of 600 metres of steel line for the Bogong hydro power project in the Victorian Alps.
• An $8 million contract to supply towers to a New South Wales wind farm project. Mr Garner said the first tower for the Waubra project would leave Portland next Friday.

The company will manufacture 64 towers for Waubra at its Portland base, with the other 64 towers for the project being manufactured by Tasmanian engineering firm Haywards. Mr Garner said Keppel Prince was pleased to work on the Waubra Wind Farm project. "We have had a difficult time keeping our skilled workers busy because of a slow down in the demand for wind turbine towers in the past couple of years," he said. "This contract helps us maintain our skills and build a business for the future.

"The steel towers for Waubra are being made in the fabrication and assembly workshops in Portland, keeping investment flowing into the region." Mr Garner said the additional employment being generated in Portland from the various renewable energy projects gave some hope of work for Vestas wind blade employees, given the pending closure of the blade factory on December 19.

"We will also be installing new equipment at Keppel Prince to cater for the increased work," he said. "We are currently producing two towers a week. .. hopefully from February that will increase to three towers a week." He said the Rudd Government's policy of increasing the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target to 20 per cent by 2020 would generate more renewable energy projects and work for Keppel Prince.

"We are also looking at opportunities stemming from various wave energy projects," he said. At least three wave energy proponents are eying Portland as an ideal site for wave energy projects. Mr Garner said while it was great to secure work for the various renewable energy projects, the company's core base and number one priority remained its ongoing relationship and work with Portland Aluminium.