Wind energy in Australia: Vestas receives 270 MW order

The order for the Sapphire Wind Farm project was placed by SWF Nominees Pty Ltd, a partnership between CWP Renewables and funds managed and/or advised by global private markets investment manager Partners Group.  It consists of 75 V126-3.45 MW turbines with Power Optimised Mode to 3.6 MW.

Located near the town of Glen Innes in New South Wales and developed by CWP Renewables, the Sapphire Wind Farm is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project to be delivered by Vestas under a consortium agreement with civil and electrical balance of plant contractor Zenviron.

The order also includes a minimum 10-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM4000) service contract, in which Vestas guarantees a defined level of availability and performance as well as a SCADA VestasOnline Business system for data-driven monitoring and preventive maintenance.

”The Sapphire Wind Farm has been a major project undertaking for CWP and we are grateful for the professional support received from Vestas throughout the development, procurement, and contracting processes”, said Alex Hewitt, CWP Renewables Managing Director.

”To meet the Australian government’s Renewable Energy Target, a significant amount of renewable capacity needs to be built out in the next few years. We are pleased to team up with high-quality partners, including Vestas, to contribute to this target with the construction of Sapphire Wind Farm, another milestone project for Australian renewable energy”, said Benjamin Haan, Managing Director and Head Private Infrastructure Asia-Pacific, Partners Group.

“The Sapphire Wind Farm is a big step forward for renewable energy in Australia and we thank CWP Renewables and Partners Group for choosing Vestas on this landmark project. We look forward to delivering a safe and successful project and further strengthening our relationship in the years ahead”, said Gerard Carew, Vestas Head of Sales & Business Development, Asia Pacific.

Installation and commissioning of the turbines is planned to be completed in the second half of 2018, with the project expected to provide up to 180 jobs and millions of dollars of spending in the local economy during construction phase. Once operational, the wind farm will supply the equivalent of approximately 110,000 households with clean energy and abate carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 600,000 tonnes each year.