KIATA Wind Farm is set to open in November after securing finance late last year, with construction due to start in a few weeks.
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The company behind the project, Canberra-based Windlab, held a community update meeting last week for the nine-turbine facility to be located about 60 kilometers north-west of Horsham.
Windlab chief executive Roger Price said the project aimed to provide electricity for 24,000 homes when completed.
“The community update went well. The project reached financial close last year,” he said.
“We have selected a wind turbine manufacturer, the project has been financed and construction is due to commence over the course of the next few weeks.
“The community meeting was really to update everybody on the project’s progress.”
Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne approved the new wind farm in June, which well be located three kilometres outside the Kiata township.
Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said at the time that new wind farm was a win for north-west Victoria and a win for the environment.
Mr Price said the wind farm would purchase components from leading global manufacturer Vestas and from Keppel Prince Engineering at Portland in south-west Victoria.
“Work on the site should commence in the next three or four weeks and the project should be operational by November,” he said.
The Victorian Coalition pledged this week to abolish the state’s renewable energy target if it wins government in 2018, arguing that power prices had increased too much already.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the target was unrealistic and harmed prices and reliability.
Mr Price said the Kiata Wind Farm had made multi-year renewable agreements with the state government.
“We were successful in wining a large-scale generation certificate contract with the Victorian government,” he said.
“It was an important part in being able to finance the project.”