Forestry Corp awards permits to four big wind projects in state plantation forests

Permits have been awarded to a mix of international and local wind energy developers to pursue four big wind projects that could be built in state-owned plantation forests in New South Wales.

The permits – awarded after a 15-month tender – are the first to be awarded in NSW and have gone to groups led by France’s Neoen, Spain’s Iberdrola, Ireland’s Mainstream Renewables, and the Portugal-based TagEnergy. Two of them have local partners.

Three of the proposed projects are located in the central west between Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange, and another in the south of the state near Tumut.

“Today’s announcement marks the start of the investigation phase under what will be a comprehensive and considered planning process,” says Forestry Corp CEO Anshul Chaudhary.

“A permit is not a consent to proceed with a project, but it will allow the proponent to start the detailed studies to see if a project is viable within each investigation permit area.

“Each company will need to conduct detailed wind farm feasibility studies, which will commence with the installation of wind and weather monitoring equipment on meteorological masts.”

The combined investigation, consultation, planning and approval stages could be expected to take between three and six years. Any approved development would be unlikely to be in operation until the early 2030s.

Mainstream has teamed up with the newly emerging Australian developer Someva Renewables for a 500 MW wind project called Sunny Corner for a site between Lithgow and Bathurst.

Another project, named The Pines, is a joint venture between owner and operator TagEnergy and another new renewable energy developer called Stromlo Energy.

Their site is further south, and has not yet revealed its targeted capacity, but would like be similar to Sunny Corner. They expect their feasibility study to take between three and six months, and are seeking meetings with local communities before defining the project area and starting off on the detailed planning process.

Neoen’s proposal is currently called the Bondo wind project, although the company has also yet to identify a potential megawatt capacity, while Iberdrola’s project is called Canobolas and is located around 15kms south of Orange.

Interestingly, both TagEnergy and Stromlo are led by former senior executives from Neoen Australia, regarded as the most successful builder and operator of renewable and storage projects in Australia. TagEnergy is currently building the first stage of what will be Australia’s biggest wind project, the 1.3 GW Golden Plains facility in Victoria.

The attraction of wind projects in state plantation forecasts is that they avoid wilderness areas, and are away from local communities, and come with already established infrastructure such as roads and powerlines. 

Forestry Corp says wind farms can co-exist with plantation forests without having any long-term impact on tree growth, plantation operations or timber production, as the wind turbines are situated above the forests. Native forests are not included in these project areas.

Wind farms operate in forests in Canada, Germany, Sweden, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and similar proposals are being considered for plantations in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

“Wind farms can co-exist with plantation forests without having any long-term impact on tree growth or plantation operations, as the wind turbines are situated well above the top of the trees,” Chaudhary says.

“Pine plantations are large areas often in windy locations, with access to powerlines, and a good existing road network.” He notes that wind farms operate in plantations in Canada, Germany, Sweden, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and similar proposals are being considered for plantations in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

“This is a milestone project for New South Wales and an example of how innovative renewable energy developments can help strengthen regional prosperity,” Someva managing director Jamie Chivers said in a statement.

“We look forward to meeting local communities, First Nations people, forestry users and local interests’ groups to understand how we can incorporate their feedback into the proposed project.”

Someva recently teamed up with AGL for the proposed development of the 1.5 GW Pottinger Energy Park in south-west NSW that would include 1.5 GW of wind, some 300 MW of solar and a giant four hour, 2,000 MWh battery.