Snowtown II wind farm is located 5km west of Snowtown in South Australia. Developed as an expansion to the 368.7MW Snowtown I wind farm, the $400m project became operational in June 2014. The wind farm is operated by TrustPower.
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The 270MW Snowtown II wind farm generates 989GWh of electricity a year, which is sufficient to power 180,000 households, offsetting approximately 700,000t of greenhouse gas emissions a year. It will aid South Australia in achieving its 33% renewable energy target by 2020.
Deutsche Bank provided $400m in funding for the project.
Snowtown II wind farm details
The Snowtown II wind farm was developed in two separate divisions, namely Snowtown II North farm and the Snowtown II South farm. The North farm is a 144MW farm and includes 48 turbines, while the South farm is of 126MW consisting of 42 wind turbines. Both the farms are connected by TrustPower’s transmission line.
The turbines at Snowtown II wind farm were placed adjacent to the Snowtown I wind farm in the Barunga-Hummocks Ranges. The North farm consists of 48 wind turbines placed in the Barunga Ranges. The South farm includes 42 wind turbines placed in the development area of Hummocks Ranges.
The Barunga and Hummock ranges are a part of multiple low-lying ridgelines running in north-south direction. They are situated at an elevation of approximately between 300m and 430m above sea level.
The Snowtown II wind farm includes 90 Siemens 3MW direct-drive turbines, capable of generating 270MW, in addition to ten SWT-3.0-101 and 80 SWT-3.0-108 wind turbines from Siemens.
The SWT-3.0-101 turbine rotor is three-bladed and is fixed on the top of the tower. The rotor has a diameter of 101m and swept area of 8,000m² at a maximum rotation speed of 16rpm. The SWT-3.0-108 turbine rotor is also three-bladed and has a diameter of 108m and swept area of 9,160m².
The offshore wind turbines are connected to the substation at Barunga Gap through an electrical and communications system. The substation includes a site office and an operations and maintenance facility.
Sale and transmission of power generated by the Snowtown II wind farm
Origin Energy Electricity will purchase the entire power generated at the Snowtown II wind farm until 2030. The power purchase agreement can be optionally extended for five more years.
The electricity generated at the Barunga Gap substation is transmitted to Blyth west substation through a 28km-long newly built 275kV overhead transmission line. It is then transmitted to the Para-Bungama 275kV transmission line.
Construction of Snowtown II wind farm
The construction of the Snowtown II wind farm began in September 2012 and was completed in June 2014.. The project created approximately 200 construction jobs and 15 full-time jobs.
Major works involved the construction of access roads, turbines transport and erection, as well as electrical and communication networks.
A 28km transmission line was laid for connecting the wind farms to the power substation at Para-Bungama line. The Snowtown II North farm owns the transmission line along with the substation, while the facilities are shared by both the wind farms.
Contractors involved with the Snowtown II wind farm
Siemens was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract to supply and erect 90 direct drive wind turbines for the Snowtown II farm. Siemens is also responsible for the operations and maintenance of the turbines.
Downer laid the 28km transmission line between Snowtown Stage II wind farm and built the substation at the Para-Bungama line.
A power transmission connection agreement was made with ElectraNet to access the Para- Bungama line. The agreement is valid for 25 years.
E&A Contractors was awarded a subcontract by Siemens to supply 20 turbine towers for the Snowtown II wind farm.
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