Southern Hemisphere’s Biggest Wind Farm Opens

Southern Hemisphere’s Biggest Wind Farm Opens

Australia’s 420 MW Macarthur Wind Farm, largest in the Southern Hemisphere, featuring Vestas V112-3.0 MW turbines officially opened last Friday. Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel participated in the event, which included leading Australian state and federal government officials.

Owned by Australian-based AGL Energy and New Zealand-based Meridian Energy, the Macarthur Wind Farm is a genuinely global construction, engineering, and technology project, with equipment and personnel coming together from four continents. Vestas and Leighton Contractors combined to deliver the logistically complex, AUD $1 billion Macarthur Wind Farm three months ahead of schedule.

With the Macarthur project, Vestas has installed more than 50 per cent of the cumulative wind energy capacity in Australia. When the 168 MW Musselroe project comes online later this year, that number will rise to almost 60 per cent.

“Vestas is strongly committed to the Australian market and very pleased to have such good working relations with our key customers here,” says Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel. “Australia is now enjoying the benefits of large-scale clean energy investment and jobs, thanks to its Renewable Energy Target. Bipartisan support for this policy is a crucial element in creating the long-term business certainty to make billion dollar investments like the Macarthur project a reality.”

The Macarthur project was the first to purchase the Vestas V112-3.0 MW wind turbine. AGL Managing Director & CEO Michael Fraser says, “The V112-3.0 MW is the perfect solution to meet our need for a highly-productive and cost-effective turbine for the medium wind speeds on the project site.”

Macarhur wind farm development video: