South Australian Government Approves Keyneton Windfarm

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--The controversial, 100-megawatt (MW) Keyneton windfarm project looks set to go ahead in the next few years, after it was granted conditional approval by the South Australian Planning Department in December.

Pacific Hydro Limited's (Victoria, Australia) windfarm, which falls on the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges in Keyneton, South Australia, has been lobbied by the residents, who are anxious about its potential environmental impact. However, the Environment Protection Authority examined the project proposal and said that there is no evidence that the windfarm noise could adversely affect people's health.

The state-government approval was followed by detailed analysis and assessment by the planning committee for eight months before a grant was given, with 26 conditions to be met before the construction could begin. According to the proposal submitted to the committee, the project will involve the installation of 42 turbines to produce approximately 100 MW.

Pacific Hydro intends to construct a 275-kilovolt (kV) onsite substation, consisting of two 33-kV/275-kV transformers, and a six-kilometer (four-mile) overhead transmission line to connect both northern and southern clusters of the wind turbine to the nearest grid.

In the next 12 months, Pacific Hydro will conduct grid-connection studies and finalize commercial agreements with buyers. The $200 million project is expected to undergo construction in mid-2015.

Also, Pacific Hydro's team in Victoria is working on the last and final stage of the 47-MW Portland Wind Energy Project, which reached financial closure in September 2013. The construction contract was awarded to Consolidated Power Projects Pty Limited (Adelaide, Australia) for civil and balance of plant work, and Keppel Prince Engineering (Victoria, Australia), for electrical balance of plant work, while Repower Australia Pty Limited (Victoria) was chosen as the turbine supplier. Major on-site construction will begin soon, and commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2015.

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