Iberdrola revives central west wind farm, with works to begin within weeks

The construction of a long-delayed wind farm in central-west New South Wales is set to go ahead, after its relatively new owner, Iberdrola Australia, confirmed that works would begin on the project next month.

Iberdrola, which last year acquired one of Australia’s first pure-play renewables companies, Infigen Energy, said on Friday that it had committed to building the Flyers Creek wind farm, a 145MW wind project originally developed by Infigen near Orange.

The company said construction works were expected to begin in March 2022 and would include the installation of 38 wind turbines and related balance of plant. The project will create 230 jobs during construction, and six-to-eight permanent jobs throughout its operational life.

Flyers Creek has been in the development pipeline for almost a decade, after inspiring the launch of the Central NSW Renewable Energy Cooperative (CENREC) back in 2012, which aimed to crowd-source funds to buy one of its turbines and sell the electricity it generated to a retailer.

At that stage, Infigen was still awaiting approval for the wind farm – which it duly received. But eight years later, in May 2020, financial close of Flyers Creek and other projects was deferred by Infigen, as Covid-19 started to bite and exacerbate existing renewables market woes.

“The decision to defer FID is due to a range of risks that arise from the Covid-19 crisis, including risks related to financing, construction, and commissioning, through this period of economic and social disruption, along with a more subdued wholesale electricity price outlook,” Infigen said at the time.

However, the company also stressed that the fundamentals of the project had not changed; Flyers Creek Wind Farm was still located close to large electricity load, with a compelling wind resource, in one of the nation’s most opportunity rich electricity markets on the NEM.

Two years later, Iberdrola Australia has obviously come to the same conclusion, but in a more stable market, and will finally bring the project to fruition.

“We are delighted to be progressing with the construction of Flyers Creek Wind Farm,” Iberdrola Australia CEO Ross Rolfe said on Friday.

“The project will make a meaningful contribution to economic development in and around Blayney Shire and Cabonne Shire.

“Once complete, Flyers Creek wind farm will be dispatched as part of Iberdrola Australia’s renewable energy portfolio, one of the largest and fastest growing renewable portfolios in the National Electricity Market,” he said.

“The output of the plant will be sold to Australian businesses and enterprises, helping them achieve their sustainability goals.”

Iberdrola did not specify how much it was spending to progress Flyers Creek, but did note that its combined investments in the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park in South Australia, Avonlie solar farm and Wallgrove battery in NSW, and Flyers Creek, represented a capital commitment in excess of $A1 billion.

“These projects will help the Australian economy to achieve its decarbonisation goals while also providing customers across Australia with reliable supplies of low-cost green electricity,” the company said.