The wind farm will be the third largest in Australia, valued at $450 million and financed by shareholders Partners Group, RES, OPTrust and GE. The deal is the first major contract to be signed following restored bipartisan support for the country’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), mandating 33,000 GWh of generation capacity by 2020 and signalling the return of investment to the Australian renewable energy sector.
A power purchase agreement with the Australian Capital Territory Government (ACT) will guarantee the purchase of around 40 percent of the energy generated by the wind farm, awarded under the ACT’s Wind Auction announcement in February 2015. The Ararat wind farm will have a life span of 25 years and will generate enough electricity to power 123,000 homes per year, representing 6 percent of Victoria’s households. RES will manage the development, construction and commissioning of the project while GE will provide ongoing operations and maintenance under a ten-year service agreement.
“With certainty comes investment – that’s our experience overseas and that’s what we’ll see here in Australia now that the RET is fully resolved” said Geoff Culbert, President & CEO, GE Australia, New Zealand and PNG. “I congratulate both the Coalition and the ALP on restoring the policy certainty needed to enable investment and job creation. This decision has immediately unlocked half a billion dollars of direct foreign investment into Australia.”
Mr Culbert added that the wind farm will have significant local impact and will employ around 165 workers directly in the construction phase with another 120 employed indirectly. It is expected to inject at least $7 million - $8 million into the local economy around the wind farm over two years. The project will also establish a local community fund with over $2 million in support of good causes over the lifetime of the wind farm.
Construction of the wind farm is expected to take two years with start of operations scheduled for April 2017.
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