Wind turbine blades start making 400 km journey from port to project site

Wind turbine blades bound for the only wind farm currently under construction in New South Wales will start winding their way through the Hunter region this week, as they make the hundreds-of-kilometres journey from port to project site.

A traffic alert issued by the NSW government has warned motorists that 80-metre-long wind turbine blades will begin to be transported from the Port of Newcastle to the Uungula wind farm under construction near Wellington in the Central West Orana.

The blades will take a 400-kilometre route starting at the Port of Newcastle and travelling along the New England and Golden Highways. Multiple of the oversize and overmass (OSOM) deliveries will be made each week, with blades expected to leave the Port at around 1am, to minimise the impact on local traffic.

“Motorists are reminded to plan their journey as travel times are likely to be longer due to slower moving OSOM vehicles navigating turns and intersections along the route,” said Transport for NSW.

“Short delays may also be encountered as part of roadwork sites along the route. Motorists are urged to slow down and exercise caution when approaching or passing an OSOM load.”

Specific locations where delays may be expected are at the intersection of the John Renshaw Dr and Hunter Expressway; Golden Highway at Mount Thorley, Denman, Merriwa, and Saxa Road; Mitchell Highway onto Goolma Road; and Goolma Road and Twelve Mile Road.

These are not the first components bound for the Uungula wind farm to begin their journey from Newcastle, with components having been on the move since April. However, these are the first wind turbine blades to be delivered to the site.

The first mammoth components began arriving at the Uungula wind project at the end of April, starting with the delivery of turbine tower segments and nacelles, some of them weighing up to almost 100 tonnes.

Developer Squadron Energy confirmed in early July that it was officially a third of the way through building the 414-megawatt (MW) wind farm, with nearly all concrete foundations poured and regular weekly delivery of components underway. The first towers began to be erected later that month.

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