Huge wind turbine parts arrive at port for delivery to Golden Plains

The first of 21 shiploads of turbine parts for the massive Golden Plains wind farm in Victoria have been unloaded at Geelong Port, ready for transport to the project’s site near Rokewood.

Photos of the huge turbine parts at the port and being unloaded were published on LinkedIn by heavy haulage company Rex J Andrews on Thursday.

“RJA have been actively developing transport solutions, routes and approvals for the last 24 months in preparation for Golden Plains with their client and many regulatory bodies,” a note on the LinkedIn post says.

At 756MW in its first stage, the up to 1.3GW Golden Plains project on track to be Australia’s biggest wind farm, at least for a time.

The $2bn, 122-turbine first stage of Golden Plains is expected to start producing renewable energy in the first quarter of 2025. It will also include a big battery.

The 6.2MW Vestas turbines for Golden Plains are also huge and it is no small task transporting them from port to project. The blades are 80m long (11m longer than previous blades through Geelong), while the towers are 6.4m in diameter, requiring an up to 6.8m high clearance from port to site.

RJA is well versed in transporting wind turbine tower and blade parts in Australia, including for Kaban in Queensland and Rye Park in NSW which are also the V162 Platform.

The Rye Park project has required the transport of 198 turbine blades at 80 metres long from the port in Newcastle.