Neoen slashes capacity of proposed wind project and size of turbines after community feedback

Renewable energy and storage developer Neoen has reduced turbine numbers by more than a third at its proposed Tchelery wind project in the south-west of New South Wales (NSW), and has also shrunk the size of the remaining machines.

The company cited environmental concerns and community consultation for removing the turbines, and for the more unusual move of reducing their size. 

The size difference is unlikely to be noticeable to the naked eye, however, as the maximum height is dipping from a whopping 285 metres to 270 metres from ground to blade tip, with a reduced hub height of 170m. 

The number of turbines is falling from a potential maximum of 120 to 74, which will radically reduce the capacity of the project from the originally projected 800 megawatts (MW) to 577 MW. 

While reducing the numbers of turbines in projects working their way through the planning process is relatively common, shrinking the size is less common but does still happen. 

In 2023, Acen Australia reduced the size of the turbines at its controversial Robbins Island project from a maximum tip height of 270m down to 212m. 

Tilt Renewables tried to supersize its Liverpool Range project in 2022 from 962MW to 1.33GW but massive resistance saw it scale the capacity back to 1GW and tip heights down from 250m to 215m.

Big battery named in updated plans

It’s not all subtraction at the proposed Tchelery wind farm, however. Neoen has added plans for a 350MW/700MWh or 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

The alterations were made public via documents lodged on the EPBC website, the federal environmental approval authority.

Neoen has been contacted for more details about why it has shrunk the wind farm. 

The project lies in the middle of the South-West renewable energy zone (SW REZ) and Neoen plans to connect it into existing 220kV power lines – assuming it gains access to the grid.

If Neoen is one of the lucky developers that have won access rights, Neoen will hook the project directly into the new 330kV Project Connect transmission line which is currently under construction. 

If permitting goes to plan, Neoen expects construction will start in early 2027 and take between two to three years to complete, leading to an anticipated start date in early 2030.

Planning for moving day

The size of the wind farm and the extra BESS weren’t the only changes Neoen had to request of the EPBC, which needs to approve the final design on environmental grounds.

The size of the turbines – which will be among the largest installed in Australia – need significant upgrades along the roads from port to site as well, which also require the EPBC to tick off.

The turbine blades will come from the Port of Newcastle, which has more room for the up to 100m long blades than the Port of Adelaide, according to a review by engineering firm WSP.

While those won’t be the final specs of the Tchelery blades, WSP says those sizes give Neoen wiggle room in the event of future blade size increases.

The biggest downside with using Port of Newcastle is the volume of projects slated to be based out of the port in the next five years. The New England, HunterCentral Coast and Central-West Orang REZs are all closer to Newcastle than Adelaide and the only other suitable port might be Brisbane.

It means all other parts will come from Adelaide.

The road to NSW from Adelaide is now well travelled by giant wind machinery and won’t require any upgrades to move the remaining turbine parts and BESS.

The other downside of shifting blades out of Newcastle is that WSP identified 15 “pinch points” where the road will need to be upgraded to allow the heavy, oversized transporters to move through, trees to be cut down, and other fencing and signage to be temporarily taken down. 

The report assumes a 30m overhang for the blade, but the sheer size of the turbines pose a real challenge for the whole project.

“The tower dimensions listed would be the largest ever to be used in Australia, both in diameter and in length. The base towers in particular would pose a significant challenge for transport due to both height (overheaр structures and power lines) and width (taking up two lanes),” the report says. 

“These will likely attract higher requirements for pilots and police escorts to mitigate risks with other road users on the route.

“The main transformer at 210 tons is heavy but can be mitigated with the use of more trailer axles to spread the load.”