Concrete milestone at Forrest wind farm, with more than half of turbine foundations complete

Andrew Forrest’s renewables outfit Squadron Energy has poured 35 of the 69 turbine foundations for its Uungala wind farm, taking it past the halfway mark on the New South Wales project. 

The 414 megawatt (MW) Uungala wind farm near Wellington in NSW will be the largest in the state, once complete – until others such as the massive, recently approved 1.45 gigawatt (GW) Yanco Delta project is built.

The latest milestone for the project was announced on the weekend by Tattarang – the private investment group of Andrew and Nicola Forrest – in a LinkedIn post.

It follows last month’s news that a team from Leading Edge Helicopters had started work attaching 11km of 330 kV single circuit transmission line to 28 transmission towers that will connec the wind farm to the grid in central western NSW.

Squadron’s general manager of contracts and controls, Mark Hunt, said at the time that construction of the wind farm was well underway, with turbine components, including blades, set to make the journey from the Port of Newcastle in coming months.

“I want to thank the local community, our contractors and our partners for their support to reach this stage of the project, which is creating 262 jobs and investing $41 million in the regional economy,” Hunt said in February.

“We are continuing to work hard to make sure that the project is creating a positive legacy in the region by investing in long term projects that matter to the community – including partnering with Dubbo Regional Council to deliver a new advanced wastewater treatment facility in Dubbo.”