Hundreds of workers at the Coopers Gap Wind Farm site were excited to see the fruits of their labour take shape, with the completion of the first wind turbine tower in mid-November.
AGL General Manager of Development and Construction, Mr Dave Johnson, said this turbine is a great milestone for the project and is one of 123 turbines to be erected.
“Projects like this involve enormous efforts by many stakeholders; the logistics of getting the massive components to site alone is one of the areas which can prove challenging,” Mr Johnson said.
“We have worked with many government agencies and others to have the components transported from the Brisbane Port to our site for what will be a 453 MW power station.
“I thank everyone for their patience and know they are part of something quite amazing, especially when they see the 67 metre blades on the roads.
Mr Johnson said on site construction of the wind farm is progressing, with 95 foundations poured, both main transformers energised, construction of the 275kV substation by Powerlink complete, and energisation of the 33kV switchyard expected next week.
AGL Manager on site, Mr Ray King said managing roadworks along major routes was an example of things which need to be constantly managed throughout construction.
“If anyone has travelled along the Logan Motorway or up the Toowoomba range recently, they will know there are heavy roadworks and this has made extra challenges to our transportation efforts.
“For example, we are dealing with things like the safe relocation of the traffic lights, to ensure our blades are arriving to site.
“Our aim is to have safe deliveries of the wind turbine components with minimum disruptions to everyone and this is not always a straightforward task.
Mr King said a lot of the components were being stored at the site of the Brisbane Port, until roadworks and alternative routes were confirmed.
“Nobody said it was going to be easy to get hundreds of turbines out of Brisbane and up the range and we are still working towards a late 2019 completion date,” he said.
About Coopers Gap
Coopers Gap Wind Farm – which will be Australia’s largest wind farm upon completion in 2019 – is a great example of AGL’s commitment to building a sustainable energy future for all Australians.
The second greenfield project owned and constructed by the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF), the Coopers Gap Wind Farm will have a capacity of 453 MW and produce around 1,510,000 MWh of renewable energy – powering approximately 264,000 average Australian homes.
Location
Coopers Gap Wind Farm is 250 km north-west of Brisbane near Cooranga North, between Dalby and Kingaroy. The site is located on land that’s mainly used for cattle grazing and other farming activities.
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