Neoen’s Kaban Wind Farm is about to take receipt of Australia’s largest wind turbines, with maritime workers at Port of Cairns using massive on-ship cranes to transfer the enormous wind-turbine tower sections onto trucks for their eventual trip up to Ravenshoe.
Each of the massive Vestas V162 turbine components weigh in at a 90 tonnes and were manoeuvred offsite for storage ahead of their freight to site—a logistically delicate process that will require police escort.
French renewable energy giant Neoen reached a financial close on the $370 million project in September, with construction work set to continue to March 2023.
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Kaban Green Power Hub is a renewable energy project located in the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland.
It consists of a 157MW wind farm with approval for a 100MW battery, and a network upgrade partly funded by Neoen. The project has a power purchase agreement with CleanCo to provide energy in support of Queensland’s target of 50 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.
The location was chosen because it is very windy and has a 275kV high voltage transmission line running through the site.
The wind generation profile in Far North Queensland is different and complementary to other wind farms in the southern and eastern parts of the National Electricity Market.