Cherry Tree wind farm set to start sending power to Victorian grid

The 57MW Cherry Tree wind farm near Seymour, in Victoria, is set to start sending power to the grid after the last of its turbines were installed, and the long-delayed project was energised.

Project owner John Laing said on Monday that the wind farm’s final turbine was erected on February 17, and the wind farm connected to the grid shortly after that on February 20.

John Laing said the next phase would include the commissioning and testing of the substation infrastructure, wind turbines and the wind farm control systems before it was brought into operation.

The completion of Cherry Tree will also kick-start the off-take deal with Infigen Energy – which has been managing construction of the project – to buy all of the electricity it generates and on-sell it to the grid.

John Laing say the wind farm’s expected annual electrical output will power 37,000 average Victorian households and avoid the emission of 200,000 tonnes of CO2e annually.

“We are really excited to see Cherry Tree Wind Farm enter its commissioning phase,” said John Laing regional managing director Justin Bailey in a statement on Monday.

“Our investment, together with the work of our project partners, will soon see this asset producing clean energy for Victoria.

“As a key provider of infrastructure and energy projects that foster sustainable growth, we are really proud to be part of this project helping the Victorian government in their efforts to de-carbonise the economy.”

Cherry Tree has been among various projects in Victoria that has suffered protracted development delays due to the 2018 introduction of a requirement for several additional grid studies by the network owner.

“These requirements are designed to ensure that the strength of the network is maintained once the new build is connected to the grid,” said Infigen managing director Ross Rolfe in comments to investors at the time.

“The introduction of additional grid studies, and the potential implications for new projects, explains significant delays being encountered by project proponents in many parts of the network.

“Cherry tree is, unfortunately, no exception to this rule.”

The UK-based John Laing, meanwhile, is reportedly looking to offload its 500MW Australian renewable energy portfolio, having last year reported a write down of £66 million ($A120 million) on three of its projects under construction as a result of changes in marginal loss factors.

The company said in a statement that the write-down related to three assets under construction, but didn’t say which assets, after an appraisal from an independent advisor.

As a result, the company said it had put a halt to new investments in Australia until such time as there was a change to the way transmission losses were calculated.

“New renewable energy investments have been put on hold in Europe and Australia, and limited to recycling of capital in North America, as we re-assess our approach to risk and return in these markets,” CEO Olivier Brousse said in a statement to investors in August of last year.

John Laing’s other investments in Australia include the 170MW Finley solar farm, the 255MW Sunraysia solar farm, and the Granville and Kiata wind farms. It also holds small stakes in each of the three stages of the Hornsdale wind farm.

The company is due to deliver its full-year results announcement sometime on Tuesday (today).