Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) will build a pioneering hybrid wind project in Australia, which combines the installation of a wind farm with 58 wind turbines model SG 3.4-132 -with a total capacity of 194 MW- and an energy storage system.
According to the contract signed with the independent renewable energy power producer Neoen, Siemens Gamesa will be responsible for the turnkey construction of the complete hybrid wind project, as well as its maintenance for 25 years. Located in the Australian town of Stawell, in the state of Victoria, this hybrid facility called Bulgana Green Energy Hub– will integrate the 194 MW wind farm with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery of 20 MW / 34 MWh. The construction of the project will begin this month with the aim of making the installation operational by August 2019.
The hybrid facility “Bulgana Green Energy Hub” will integrate a 194 MW wind farm with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery of 20 MW / 34 MWh
It should be noted that this hybrid wind project already has two long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) – one with the government of the State of Victoria for the next fifteen years and another with the Australian agricultural company Nectar Farms for a period of ten years. This company will use the energy obtained directly from the wind farm, at a lower price than the network, to feed the LED lights of its tomato greenhouses.
Also, in periods of low wind, it may get the electricity stored in the battery. Overall, Nectar Farms will be supplied approximately 97% from this installation and will only rely by 3% on the network for long periods without wind. It is estimated that Nectar Farms will consume 15% of the total electricity produced by Bulgana Green Energy Hub, while the remaining will be fed directly into the local network, Siemens Gamesa said in a statement.
This hybrid wind project already has two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs): one with the government of the State of Victoria for the next fifteen years and another with the Australian agricultural company Nectar Farms
This is the fourth turnkey project that Siemens Gamesa is developing for Neoen in Australia, for which the company has already installed projects accounting to more than 300 MW in the country. In addition to Australia, the presence of Siemens Gamesa in Asia Pacific spans to China, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan or New Zealand. In total, it has installed more than 6.6 GW in the continent and has another 1.2 GW under execution.
