Biggest ever turbines set sail for Australia, headed for Fortescue’s first wind project in Pilbara

The first wind turbines to be sent to Australia by Chinese manufacturer Envision Energy have set sail, bound for Port Hedland in Western Australia and to the first wind project to be built by iron giant Fortescue as it chases its goal of reaching “real zero” emissions by the end of the decade.

The Envision EN-182/7.8 megawatt (MW) wind turbines will be the most powerful yet seen in Australia, and will also be the first delivery by the Chinese manufacturer in the Australian market.

They will be installed in the Pilbara with the help of ground-breaking “self-lifting” technology developed by Spain’s Nabrawind, now owned by Fortescue itself.

The self-lifting technology allows for smaller foundations, less concrete, smaller cranes and lower costs – and is particularly important for remote areas such as the Pilbara, and where the extreme summer heat can make such installations very difficult.

A total of 17 Envision turbines will be used for the 132 MW Nullagine wind project, which is likely to be followed by a much bigger installation at the neighbouring Bonney Downs facility to take total wind capacity to more than 800 MW.

Fortescue is also building two large solar farms – amongst the largest ever built in Australia – that will take its total solar capacity to more than 1.4 gigawatts.

It expects to achieve a “green grid” in the Pilbara by early 2028, and will then work on completing the electrification of its mining operations and equipment to deliver on its goal of eliminating gas and diesel at the Pilbara mines by 2030.

Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto has been in China inspecting some of the equipment that will be supplied by XCMG, including the giant haul trucks, 150-tonne water carts, electric wheel loaders and the like.

“I (took) the battery-electric wheel loader and 150-tonne water cart for a spin, and checked out the battery-electric dozer and grader,” Otranto said in a LinkedIn post.

“They do exist …. and they are very smooth.” Otranto expects the deliveries of the first production models to begin soon. The company expects to buy more than 300 giant electric haul trucks, charged with the 6 MW charging stations it has developed, before the end of the decade.

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