Hydro Tasmania's Musselroe Windfarm Takes Shape

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Hydro Tasmania (Tasmania, Australia) is on its way to getting another renewable energy plant up and running, as the first turbine foundations have been installed at the 168-megawatt (MW) Musselroe Windfarm, in Cape Portland, northeast Tasmania.

The first turbine at the proposed windfarm was put in place by Vestas (Melbourne, Australia), which is supplying the turbines and providing installation and commissioning services for the project. The windfarm will consist of 56 turbines, each with 3-MW capacity, and will take another six to seven months to construct. When commissioned, the windfarm will supply enough power for approximately 55,000 households, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 300,000 tonnes each year. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $400 million.

In recent announcements made by the company, China's Guohua Energy Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of state-owned enterprise Shenhua Group (Beijing, China), has formally signed a partnership agreement with Hydro Tasmania. According to the agreement, the Chinese company paid $89 million and brought a 75% stake in the windfarm project, which includes the transfer of $270 million in debt from Hydro Tasmania.

The Musselroe windfarm is being developed by Hydro Tasmania, (previously Roaring 40s Renewable Energy Limited) with design & engineering partner Entura, along with Consolidated Power Projects Australia Private Limited (CPP) (Adelaide, Australia) and Hazell Bros Tasmania (Tasmania, Australia). CPP has been awarded as an electrical contractor, and Hazell Bros was selected to be the civil contractor for the balance of plant work.

Hydro's Project Manager, Andrew Hickman, says there are hundreds of people working to ensure the farm is fully operational by July.

"There's over 250 major truck movements for just these wind turbine components alone, so it is a big logistical exercise, and a lot of it actually happens in the wee hours of the morning as you travel from Bell Bay out to the northeastern tip of Tasmania," he said.

In related news, the company also mentioned plans to expand the Musselroe windfarm following the completion of Phase I.

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