Snowtown II: A modern wind farm
Green energy for Australia
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Up to 430 meters above sea level and less than 50 kilometers from the coast, wind is a constant feature in the Barunga and Hummocks Ranges of South Australia. Standing tall on the peaks and ridges, 90 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines gracefully turn – generating clean, reliable power for homes and businesses.
Snowtown was built in two phases. After the first part was built, it became clear that the weather conditions were suitable for building an even bigger farm – so now both parts together form the largest wind farm in South Australia.
Snowtown is also an important part of the state’s plans aimed at achieving its ambitious renewable-energy targets: South Australia aims to have 33 percent renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020. Snowtown II can offset approximately 700,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
We want to have a future for our kids. We want them to grow up in a clean environment… and make sure they have the opportunities and jobs that flow from investing in these cutting-edge technologies.
Customer
Snowtown II is owned by Tilt Renewables, which demerged from Trustpower in 2016. Tilt, operating in Australia and New Zealand, owns and operates primarily renewable energy assets. They include solar farms as well as wind power plants, such as Snowtown I and II in South Australia. This region is especially suitable for wind power, due to its strong wind resource and proximity to transmission and load centers.
The 270 MW Snowtown II wind farm is an extension to the original Snowtown wind farm, which delivered its first power to the grid in 2006. The final approvals for the second stage of the Snowtown wind farm were successfully obtained in August 2012. Deutsche Bank provided AU$400 million in funding for the project, which became operational in June 2014.
Solution
- Combined, the two parts of Snowtown generate enough energy to power over 230,000 South Australian homes. 1,045,000 tons of CO2 are saved this way. Snowtown II alone offsets 700,000 tons.
- During the 22-month construction period, up to 240 site staff worked on Snowtown II. Around 15 permanent full-time employees have been maintaining it ever since.
- State and local contractors and consultants have benefited from an estimated local spend of AU$85 million on the construction.
- The local community benefits directly from more than AU$2 million per annum through local services, host landholders, staff payments and the community fund.
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