Renewable energy from Wambo Wind Farm is now flowing into Queensland’s electricity grid for the first time, marking a major milestone for the Western Downs project.
The first blades started turning at Diamondy this week after Wambo Wind Farm principal contractor, Vestas, kicked off the process of energisation and commissioning of the first group of six wind turbines.
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While commissioning and testing process of the first turbines will take several months, the first commissioning stage will see around 36MW of electricity flowing into the grid upon completion.
Over the coming months Vestas will ramp up its commissioning activities with 42 turbines eventually producing 252MW from stage 1 of the project, which is expected to enter commercial operations late this year.
Stanwell CEO Michael O’Rourke said, “The Western Downs is one of the most significant renewable energy hubs in Queensland, and Wambo is a powerful part of that story.
“It’s been over two years since construction started to get to this point and to see the first blades of the first turbines now spinning and producing renewable energy for the first time is an incredible moment.
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“Stanwell is delivering the project in partnership with Cubico. Under the joint venture, Stanwell will own half of the energy produced and purchase the rest of the power from Cubico under a 15-year agreement.
“Once stages 1 & 2 are complete, Wambo Wind Farm will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 312,000 homes, supporting our industrial and commercial customers and feeding energy into the National Electricity Market.”
