Developer BJCE Australia (Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Australia) said in a newsletter update this week that 10 of the project’s completed Goldwind turbines are generating electricity already at the site, while a further 17 are ready to power up, and commissioning is underway for another 14.
Progress has been steady on the wind farm, despite a year of major disruption. As RenewEconomy reported, Goldwind turbine components started making the 233km trip from Port Kembla to the site 8km east of the township of Biala in the mid-march, just as Australian state governments were moving to close borders and implement other strict measures to limit the spread of Covid-19.
The completion of the project’s first turbine was celebrated on LinkedIn in April. At the time, BJCE Australia’s deputy general manager Derek Powell told RenewEconomy that the company was upbeat about the large-scale renewable energy prospects of Australia.
“We own and operate our own assets, so we’re in for the long haul. And we think there’s a good outlook in Australia,” he said.
In a LinkedIn post this week, Goldwind Australia, which has partnered with BJCE on the Biala project, gave a shout-out to customers, industry and project partners, local communities, and employees for helping to deliver significant projects across the nation.
“Despite a challenging year, we have achieved some major milestones and we thank you for sharing and celebrating these moments with us,” Goldwind Australia said.
The Biala wind farm is expected to produce enough electricity for approximately 46,000 typical homes on an average day of wind, once it reaches full generation capacity.