$1.9 billion push behind wind power

Age
Tuesday 2/12/2008 Page: 5

SPANISH wind giant Union Fenosa will spend more than $1.9 billion developing five wind farms in Victoria and two in NSW, in a deal set to create 265 jobs in the initial stages. Union Fenosa will develop a 130-megawatt, 68-turbine wind farm at Ryan Corner and a 60MW, 31-turbine wind farm in Hawkesdale, both in Moyne Shire in Victoria's west, as well as a 92MW, 46-turbine farm in Crookwell in NSW. All have received planning approval.

The second phase will include further development of wind farms in western Victoria, with Tarrone, Berrybank and Darlington proposed as potential sites, although these are yet to receive planning approval. The last of the seven projects is at Paling Yards in NSW.

Hernienegildo France, managing director of Union Fenosa Wind Australia. said the Federal Government's 20 per cent renewable energy target and its planned emissions trading scheme had provided the right conditions for the investment. Brett Stonestreet, chief executive of Moyne Shire where three of the wind farms will be developed, said the community had embraced the idea.

"There have been some circles of concerns, but the overall community response has been very positive. "The community is excited about becoming a new-age energy cluster. We've got up to about nine other wind farm applications that are in various planning stages and two already operating in the shire." Trade Minister Simon Crean said the investment, facilitated by Austrade, would double Australia's wind generation. "The electricity produced by the first three wind farms in phase one would supply the annual consumption of 186,000 households." he said.

"On completion in 2013, the seven wind farms will represent an additional 850 megawatts of generation capacity to Australia's existing wind generation capacity of 824 megawatts." Clean Energy Council chief executive Matthew Warren said the investment was "what we can expect once the Government eventually passes its renewable energy target, but that passage is crucial if we are to see deployment of clean energy technologies."