Vestas bags order for Australia’s biggest wind power project

Vestas has secured a contract for the delivery of 140 V112-3.0 MW turbines for the 420 MW Macarthur project in Australia.

The Macarthur project, located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, between the towns of Macarthur, Hawkesdale and Penshurst, is being jointly developed by AGL Energy Limited and Meridian.

Vestas, in consortium with Leighton Contractors will jointly install the Macarthur Wind Farm. The contract comprises a full engineering, procurement and construction contract (EPC), a ten-year service agreement and a VestasOnline® Business SCADA solution. The first turbines are expected on site during Q3 2011 with the whole project expected fully installed by the first half of 2013.

“We are proud once again to be working with AGL and Meridian, and particularly proud that they have chosen Vestas and the new V112-3.0 MW for this record-breaking clean energy project,” said Sean Sutton, President of Vestas Asia Pacific.

“This project represents the largest single order for Vestas Australia and Asia Pacific and is also the largest wind power project to be announced after the establishment of Australia’s renewable energy targets earlier this year. The new V112-3.0 MW is a perfect solution to meet AGL and Meridian’s needs for a highly-productive and cost-effective turbine for the medium wind speeds on the project site. I would also take this opportunity to thank Leighton Contractors and my colleagues at Vestas Australia for their involvement and dedication to secure this order,” Sutton said.

According to Finn Strøm Madsen, President of Vestas Technology R&D, the V112 turbine delivers high productivity due to its large swept area, higher rotor efficiency and better serviceability and reliability, which in turn improve availability. “With this order, we have now released the new V112-3.0 MW turbine for sale for both onshore and offshore,” he added.

Ditlev Engel, President & CEO of Vestas Wind Systems A/S commented, “We have high expectations for this new turbine and we consider AGL and Meridian’s choice of turbine for their prestigious project a positive acknowledgement of our technological efforts. Finally, I wish to congratulate all Vestas colleagues who have been involved in securing this order, which has been done through a truly global effort.”

AGL is a publicly listed electricity generator and retailer operating in the Australian market, while Meridian is the largest state-owned renewable energy generator and retailer in New Zealand and a renewable energy developer in Australia. Both AGL and Meridian are Vestas global key account customers and have existing wind farms with Vestas at the Wattle Point (AGL), and Te Apiti and White Hill Wind Farms (Meridian).

“Vestas is a world leader in wind power manufacturing and we feel very confident in choosing Vestas turbines for the Macarthur Wind Farm. We believe our agreement with Vestas and the use of its latest technology will result in a very successful project. We are delighted to be one of the first customers to utilise the V112-3.0 MW turbines,” said Michael Fraser, Chief Executive of AGL.

Tim Lusk, Chief Executive of Meridian Energy explained, “The low Cost of Energy and the higher installed MW with fewer turbines were the attractive propositions of the V112-3.0 MW turbine. To ensure that the V112-3.0 MW platform is the right solution for the Macarthur project, we did extensive due diligence through site visits and technical meetings.”

According to Vestas, the Macarthur Wind Farm project is one of many that relies upon the Australian Parliament’s 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target (RET), passed in late June this year.