The Kondinin Wind and Solar Farm has now received Federal Government approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act).
Director of Lacour Energy Mark Rayner said all state and federal approvals have now been secured for the $250 million Kondinin Wind and Solar Farm project and it is now being prepared for construction to commence in late 2019.
“Now that the development approval milestone is complete, Lacour Energy is pleased to announce it has partnered with Goldwind to deliver the wind and solar project,” Mr Rayner said.
“Lacour Energy are aiming to complete the final investment decision for the project in 2019.
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“The appointment of Goldwind Australia is a significant step forward for the wind farm. Goldwind will supply up to 46 Goldwind wind turbines and manage the construction works.
“The Kondinin project location ticks all the boxes to be one of the lowest cost projects in Western Australia. There is a strong wind resource located on the Western Power network with plenty of ability to connect the project via an existing substation.”
Goldwind Australia managing director John Titchen said Goldwind is pleased to see that the Western Power network is now becoming more accessible.
“A number of new wind farms are expected to be built in Western Australia over coming years as a result of the progressive reforms of the Western Australian Government and the Western Power Interim Access solution currently being rolled out,” Mr Titchen said.
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“The Lacour Energy team have done excellent work identifying and developing this project. Wind conditions have been measured and shown to match very well with Goldwind’s latest advanced wind turbine technology.”
The project, which is intended to include battery storage capability, has been developed as a hybrid project, meaning the grid connections costs can be shared between the wind and solar farm. The wind farm will predominantly produce energy during the night, making it complimentary to daytime solar energy production.
Once operational, the project will power over 100,000 Western Australian homes each year, supplying around 3 per cent of electricity for Western Australia.
