Australia to gain 123 wind turbines in largest wind farm yet

A cooperative project between GE and the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF) will, by 2019, create 123 new wind turbines for the Coopers Gap project in Queensland, Australia, the groups announced this week.

Upon completion, the wind farm will represent the largest in the nation and the first such development by
GE in Queensland. It will be responsible for around 1.5 million MWh of energy each year, powering more than 260,000 homes. Along with the project will come up to 200 construction related jobs and 20 ongoing operational jobs after its completion.

This is not the first time GE and PARF’s creators have worked together, but it is the largest, by far. PARF is
a partnership of AGL Energy Limited and Queensland Investment Corporation.

“We are proud to be working with AGL to support Australia’s transition to a cleaner, modern energy system,” Geoff Culbert, president and CEO of GE Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, said. “AGL’s commitment to a lower emissions future is clear. The company announced earlier this year it would ramp up investment in renewable energy and decarbonise its generation by 2050.”

In fact, current estimates deduce that the new wind farm will reduce CO2 emissions in the country by as much as 1,180,000 metric tons each year. GE will also be a part of the project for at least the next 25 years, maintaining the wind farm for the length of a full service agreement established between the partners.