Vestas has been appointed as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on the 86MW expansion phase of the Lincoln Gap wind farm in South Australia, replacing Senvion in the role.
Developer Nexif Energy has issued unconditional notice to proceed with the expansion phase of the 126MW Lincoln Gap wind farm, outside of Port Augusta, which will take the site’s total installed wind capacity to 212MW.
When complete in late 2021, the Lincoln Gap Wind Energy Generation and Storage project will comprise 59 turbines, with 35 of these consisting of operational Senvion units as well as 24 additional Vestas turbines for the 86MW extension.
All turbines are 3.6MW each.
Upon completion, Vestas will service its turbines for 20 years with an energy-based availability guarantee which covers both the turbines and balance of plant assets.
Vestas is also servicing the Senvion turbines installed at Lincoln Gap.
The Lincoln Gap extension is being built on farmland on a raised plateau next to the Eyre Highway. It is expected to be operational from mid-next year.
The site will also include a 10 megawatt-hour battery storage system from Fluence, so the entire project will have a capacity of 222MW when completed.
The combined project will have a total generating capacity to produce enough energy to power 155,000 households in South Australia.
“Our ability to connect Senvion and Vestas turbines of the same wind farm to the grid, is an Australian first. We’ve combined our grid expertise, wind generation solutions and comprehensive knowledge of Senvion technology to make the expansion of Lincoln Gap a reality”, said Peter Cowling, head of Vestas Australia and New Zealand.
To finance construction of the second stage, debt finance for the project, totalling A$160m (€96m), has been maintained with an ongoing commitment from existing lenders Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and Westbourne Capital.
The extension will employ over 110 workers for an additional 15 months.
Nexif Energy and its financiers have a committed investment of over A$500m, making it amongst the largest investors in South Australia.
Nexif co-founder and co-CEO Matthew Bartley said the appointment of Vestas completes the last step in the process to replace Senvion as service provider and EPC contractor for the Lincoln Gap wind farm.
He said: “We are extremely proud of our team that stepped in to oversee the completion of construction of stage one and navigated the complex process of incorporating equipment from two OEMs within the same project to enable stage two to proceed under new EPC arrangements.
“Throughout this process we worked closely with our lenders, the Australian Government through the CEFC and Westbourne, who we thank for their confidence in and support of the Project and the team at Nexif Energy.”
The battery storage facility at the wind farm will allow the clean energy plant to integrate renewable energy, more reliably, into the National Electricity Market, with the battery delivering fast response capacity.
Two long-term Large-Scale Generation Certificate agreements signed with ERM Power and a long-term offtake agreement with Snowy Hydro are underwriting a significant proportion of the project’s output.