Huge wind farm cleared to add another seven turbines in state nearing 100 pct net renewables

Neoen has been cleared to add seven more turbines and increase the footprint of its massive Goyder North wind farm in South Australia, with the federal environment process approving the expansion.

The developer says the overall impact of the now 99 turbine project will be lower because it’s taken an alternate transmission line, included just in case its preferred line wasn’t possible, out of the design. 

The EPBC confirmed the project would come under its purview in November last year, given a number of flora and fauna are set to be affected by the build – notwithstanding Neoen’s gift of 2000 hectares at the World’s End Gorge in 2023 to create a new national park. 

But following talks with turbine suppliers and taking another look at the proposed layout after landholder agreements were settled for the 275kV or 330kV overhead transmission line to Bundey substation, Neoen also rejigged the turbine plan. 

The rejigged project took out five turbines and added 12 to a new section at the northern tip of the area. Although the project remains at 600 megawatts (MW), the developer has also upsized the turbines slightly, asking and receiving approval to add an extra 5m to the blades, taking them to 95m.

The proposed 225 MW/900MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) is unchanged but will sit on a smaller footprint. 

While Neoen’s branding is still all over the Goyder hub, as with its former projects under development, it was all included in the $10.2 billion sale to Brookfield which was finalised in March this year.

Instead of licking its wounds after the bruising rejection of its offer for Origin Energy last year, the Canadian asset manager moved straight on to Neoen with a deal that closed within a year. Brookfield is promising to sell off a handful of established projects and to double the pace at the former French company’s developments.

The Goyder North wind farm is stage one of a bigger Goyder North renewable hub, which proposes to add a total of 1000MW of electricity to the grid and three stages of BESS installations totalling up to 900MW/3600MWh in capacity.

A 300 MW section of the hub was among the 19 awarded contracts under the first tender of the CIS late last year, the largest renewables auction ever to be held in Australia.

The Goyder South and Goyder North, located either side of the town of Burr, have the potential to develop into a multi gigawatt renewable hub with the addition of more wind, solar and potentially more than 4 gigawatt hours of battery storage.

The Goyder Renewable Hub. Image: Neoen

Neoen installed the last of 75 turbines at its 412MW Goyder South wind farm only in April, and the full southern project is now fully operational, producing its highest daily energy capacity of 7,655MWh on June 8, according to OpenElectricity.

The Goyder hub will be one of the main beneficiaries of the new Project EnergyConnect transmission line which links the South Australia grid directly to NSW for the first time, with a small spur line to Victoria.

The South Australian end of the line was ready to start operations in April, delivered on time and on budget by ElectraNet, but Transgrid has not been able to do the same for its end of the bargain for New South Wales. 

Goyder South and, provided it goes ahead, the North projects will be key to pushing South Australia towards its 100 per cent renewables by 2027 goal.