Concrete foundations completed for all 18 turbines at first and smallest wind farm to begin construction this year

All 18 of the concrete wind turbine foundations have been poured at the Waddi wind farm in Western Australia, paving the way for the next stage of construction at the 108 megawatt project.

Owner and developer Tilt Renewables announced the latest milestone this week for the wind farm, which started construction in the first week of August at the site around 150 km north of Perth. It was the first, and remains the smallest, of 10 wind farms to reach financial close in the last 12 months and to begin or prepare construction.

In a video posted on LinkedIn, Tilt says each of the 18 foundations has been made using 105 tonnes of steel reinforcement and 770 cubic metres of concrete – around 100 truckloads of concrete for each pour.

Each foundation is completed over the space of 9 to 11 hours and by a team of up to 32 workers, the video says.

The Waddi wind farm is one of two wind projects now being built by Tilt Renewables, along with the 288 MW Palmer wind project in South Australia which, like Waddi, has a long term offtake agreement with AGL, as well as an underwriting contract with the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

Australian has had 10 wind farm construction starts so far this year – Waddi, Narrogin, Nullagine, Kondinin and Parron Maam Marang in W.A, Palmer, Carmody’s Hill and Goyder North in South Australia, Delburn in Victoria, and Gawara Baya in Queensland.

Western Australia is one of the most active states in renewable construction starts, currently, with five wind projects under construction or expansion and more expected to begin soon.

Apart from Waddi, there is the newly announced Narrogin wind project being built by Neoen, the Flat Rocks wind project owned by Potentia Energy, where turbine parts are being delivered, and the Warradarge wind project expansion.

There is also the Nullagine wind project being built by Fortescue in the Pilbara to help power its giant iron ore mines and deliver on its goal of reaching “real zero” emissions by 2030.

At the Waddi wind farm, Tilt says the focus will now shift to preparing for the delivery of turbine tower parts, which it expects to start in early 2027.

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