Dundonnell Wind Farm Explained

Dundonnell Wind Farm
Country:Australia
Location:Mortlake
Status:O
Construction Began:January 2019
Commissioned:March 2020
Owner:Tilt Renewables
Wind Farm Type:Onshore
Wind Hub Height:114 metres
Wind Rotor Diameter:150 metres
Ps Units Operational:80 × 4.2 MW
Ps Units Manu Model:Vestas V150-4.2MW
Ps Electrical Capacity:336

Dundonnell Wind Farm is at Dundonnell, northeast of Mortlake in the Australian state of Victoria. Construction began in January 2019 and was completed in 2020 with 80 Vestas wind turbines with a capacity to generate 336MW of electricity.[1] The drive trains and hubs were assembled at the former Ford Australia site in Geelong.[2]

The wind farm has contracts to supply 37% of its output to the government of Victoria and 50% to Snowy Hydro. It is being developed by Tilt Renewables.[3] The wind farm connects to the grid via 38 kilometres of 220kV overhead transmission line to a substation near the Mortlake Power Station.[4]

A 327 tonne transformer transported at night took four nights to reach Dundonnell from Glen Waverley in eastern Melbourne in August 2019.[5] It was manufactured there by the Wilson Transformer Company.[6] The developer spent $80 million to connect the wind farm to the main 500 kV grid via a 38 km 220 kV Ausnet line, avoiding the connection problems many other generating stations have in the interior.[7] Full commissioning was delayed in mid-2020 due to concerns of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), despite it being commissioned according to a plan negotiated with AEMO in 2018.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 14 November 2018. Vestas wins largest project in Victoria’s Renewable Energy Auction with the first V150-4.2MW turbines in Australia. live. 19 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019041139/https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/0dd2626a-c362-4421-bb45-d47295d6c08a . 19 October 2021 .
  2. News: Vestas wind turbine assembly plant opens at old Ford factory in Victoria . Sophie . Vorrath . 26 September 2019 . 30 September 2019 . Renew Economy.
  3. News: Construction begins on 336MW Dundonnell wind farm – one of biggest in Victoria . Sophie . Vorrath . 18 January 2019 . 30 September 2019 . Renew Economy.
  4. News: Work begins on 80-turbine Dundonnell wind farm . . 17 January 2019 . Everard . Himmelreich . 30 September 2019 . Australian Community Media.
  5. News: Superload to hit the road and cause traffic delays across Melbourne . Lucy Mae . Beers . 7NEWS . 12 August 2019 . 7 November 2019.
  6. News: Superload made in Glen Waverley by Wilson Transformer Company hits the road . . Geordie . Cowan . 8 August 2019 . 7 November 2019.
  7. Web site: Parkinson . Giles . Huge Dundonnell wind farm begins production in Victoria . RenewEconomy . en-AU . 17 March 2020 .
  8. News: Huge Dundonnell wind farm hit by "unanticipated" commissioning delays . Sophie . Vorrath . 13 July 2020 . . 11 August 2020.