Huge 105 turbine wind project and four-hour big battery seeks green tick to link into VNI West

A wind farm and big battery proposal that would include up to 105 of the country’s largest turbines to date is seeking a federal green tick for construction alongside a major new transmission line proposed to link New South Wales and Victoria.

Plans for the 840 megawatt (MW) Wanganella Wind Farm and 600 MW/2400 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) are being proposed for construction by developer Equis Wind Australia near the NSW town of the same name, roughly halfway between Deniliquin and Hay.

The plans, referred for environmental assessment under the federal EBPC Act will involve the construction of 105 wind turbine generators (WTG), each rated at 8 MW – bigger than any so far installed in Australia. They are expected to have a tip height of up to 270 metres and hub height of up to 180 metres.

Equis says the plan is to connect the huge project to the National Electricity Market (NEM) via the NSW section of the planned Victoria New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West), a 500kV high voltage transmission line which is currently proposed to pass through the project area.

The referral document says the colocation of the current VNI West corridor and the northern boundary of the wind project means there is no need for additional electrical transmission lines over freehold land.

It says electricity generated from the proposed wind farm can be directly exported to the grid via the on-site substation and connection to high voltage transmission.

The NSW part of the VNI West project proposes to install a double circuit 500kV transmission line from the border with Victoria to the future Dinawan substation, as well as the replacement of the existing 330kV transmission line between Wagga substation and a new Gugaa substation.

It also links Sydney to the new Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme and provides a new link to Victoria.

VNI West has – like many other major NEM transmission upgrades – suffered from delays and cost blowouts.

In July, the developer of the NSW component of the project, Transgrid, announced a new plan to focus first on a critical 500 kV link to support new wind and solar generators in the NSW South West Renewable Energy Zone, while planning for the interconnector into Victoria continues.

Equis notes that the proposed Wanganella wind farm and battery sits within the South West REZ, a region that benefits from key transport routes and proximity to the proposed 330kV Dinawan Substation, “a critical component of Project EnergyConnect which will be constructed approximately 20 kilometres to the site’s northern extent.”

The developer says that due to the early stage of overall project design, a Potential Disturbance Footprint comprising the whole Project Area has been identified for the purposes of the referral.

The Actual Disturbance Footprint, and subsequent direct impact areas will be significantly smaller – “likely about 5% of the total Project Area.”

“The Project will be able to undergo siting refinement, noting that WTGs typically occupy a relatively small amount of land and can be microsited to avoid and minimise specific and localised impacts as they may arise,” the referral says.

Equis returned to Australia in 2022 with a new portfolio of wind and big battery storage projects spread across four states and with backing from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the huge Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

The battery projects include the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub in Victoria, the Calala BESS in NSW, the Koolunga BESS in South Australia and the Lower Wonga BESS in Queensland.

Other wind farms include the Bell Bay wind farm in Tasmania and the Jackson North wind farm in Queensland.

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