ACCIONA Energy commences construction of the Mt Gellibrand wind farm in Victoria

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Colac Otway Shire CEO Sue Wilkinson, Colac Otway Shire Mayor Chris Potter, Victorian Renewable Energy Advocate Simon Corbell and ACCIONA Energy Oceania Managing Director Andrew Thomson
Image credit: www.acciona-energia.com

ACCIONA Energy announced on Wednesday that it has commenced construction on the 132-megawatt Mount Gellibrand wind farm in Victoria.

Colac Otway Shire CEO Sue Wilkinson, Colac Otway Shire Mayor Chris Potter, Victorian Renewable Energy Advocate Simon Corbell and ACCIONA Energy Oceania Managing Director Andrew Thomson
Image credit: www.acciona-energia.com

Located 17km west of Winchelsea, the wind farm will be equipped with forty-four Nordex AW125/3000 wind turbines and will generate enough electricity to power more than 60,000 households.

ACCIONA Energy Oceania Managing Director Andrew Thomson said the electricity generated by the wind farm will be traded on the wholesale electricity market, adding that the Victorian Government has committed to 66MW of the farm’s renewable energy certificates.

“We are very pleased to have achieved viability for 132 MW of wind power capacity in Victoria, which will mean higher investment, more jobs and a greater contribution of clean energy to the community, within our clear growth strategy in the country,” Mr Thomson added.

Acting Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lisa Neville said the project will create more than one hundred direct jobs during the construction phase and will bring forward capital investment of around $258 million.

“We’re supporting clean energy initiatives such as the Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm because it will deliver more than $200 million of new investment and create hundreds of local jobs,” Ms Neville added.

“Thanks to our support, the developer has now been able to secure investment in the full 132MW wind farm, which will local create jobs and bring forward a total investment of more than $250 million.”

According to ACCIONA, construction of the Mt Gellibrand wind farm is due to be completed by mid-2018.