Synergy kicks off construction of new Wheatbelt wind farm as race to quit coal continues

Construction is underway on a 105 megawatt wind farm being developed in Western Australia’s eastern Wheatbelt region by the state-owned energy utility, Synergy.

WA energy minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said on Monday that earthworks have started on the 17-turbine King Rocks wind farm, at its site 35km north-east of Hyden.

Sanderson says the state’s Cook Labor government has committed $513 million towards the project, which will generate enough clean power for up to 70,000 homes.

Construction is also well underway on the nearby Hyden Workers’ Accommodation, which will feature 189 temporary rooms and associated facilities. The first of the wind farm’s roughly 200 workers are using the facility, the minister says.

“Work starting on the King Rocks Wind Farm is fantastic news for the Wheatbelt and WA,” Sanderson said on Monday.

“It will provide reliable, renewable power for households and businesses, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth in the region.

“King Rocks Wind Farm is another example of how the Cook government is delivering the projects that will enable Western Australia to exit state-owned coal fired power assets and transform the state into a renewable energy powerhouse.”

The scramble to replace Synergy’s remaining coal plants was notched up last month, when the utility proposed its largest venture into renewables yet, with a 2,000 MW hybrid wind and solar and storage project, also in the Wheatbelt region.

The project, known as Tathra, could include up to 1,000 MW of wind capacity from 140 turbines, and 500 MW of solar capacity spread over five different locations, and a 500 MW battery, with the storage still be decided.

Synergy’s biggest wind project to date is the expanded Warradarge wind farm, which is right next to the Tathra project, where work is underway to lift capacity to 283 MW in 2027.

The company owns the now 47 MW Greenough River solar project and is currently commissioning one of the country’s biggest battery projects, the 500 MW, 2,000 MWh facility at Collie.

The Collie battery adds to the two big batteries Synergy has built at the site of its Kwinana gas generator (and former coal plant) that total 300 MW and more than 1,100 MWh, taking its total big battery capacity to more than 800 MW (and nearly 3,200 MWh).

In September, Synergy wrote off the value of its entire remaining coal fleet. Impairment costs of $521.8 million, of which more than $500 million was for decommissioning alone, added to a $778.5 million loss for the last financial year.

The surging cost of coal and gas are a big factor behind both the loss, and the need to shut the aging coal power stations: the 240 MW Collie A unit will close in 2027 and the Muja 7 and 8 (both 227 MW) in late 2029.

The King Rocks wind farm will feature turbine towers of up to 125 metres with turbine blades of up to 80 metres long, taking the total height of each wind turbine to about 206 metres.

The wind farm will also involve construction of associated infrastructure such as roads, transmission lines and substation facilities.

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