Yandin Wind Farm

The 214MW Yandin wind farm is an onshore wind farm proposed to be developed in Western Australia. Alinta Energy, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based company Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), is developing the project.

Final development plan of the project was submitted for consideration in October 2017 and was approved by the Western Australian Government in January 2019.

Alinta Energy began constructing the Yandin project in August 2019 on a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis. Anticipated to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2020, the project is estimated to cost approximately £214m (A$400m).

The project is expected to create more than 150 jobs during the approximate 14-month construction period.

It is expected to become the largest renewable energy project in Western Australia, upon completion. It is anticipated to generate electricity to suffice the needs of approximately 200,000 households.

Yandin wind farm location and development details

The Yandin wind farm site is located approximately 3km from Dandaragan town in the Shire of Dandaragan and will extend in approximately 15,000ha.

The Shire of Dandaragan granted the project planning permit in January 2012 and further extended it in April 2015.

The property is spread over in private farmland and therefore will use just 0.03% of the total site, leaving the remaining site for farming.

Yandin wind farm make-up

The Yandin wind farm will comprise 51 Vestas V150-4.2MW wind turbines, which have a capacity of 3.6MW in load optimised mode.

The wind turbines belong to IEC IIIB/IEC S wind class and suited for low wind conditions ranging from 3-22.5m/s. The turbine operates at standard temperature ranging from -20°C to 45°C.

Each wind turbine will consist of three blades, with length of 73.7m each. The rotor has a diameter of 150m and a swept area of 17,671m².

The nacelle will be 12.8m-long, 4.2m-wide, and 6.9m-tall. The cut-in and cut-out wind speeds are estimated to be 3m/s and 22.5m/s, respectively.

The turbines feature full-scale converter system and produce alternating current at 50/60Hz frequency.

The wind turbine gear box comprises two planetary stages and one helical stage, while operating at a maximum sound level of 104.9dB.

Infrastructure facilities

The project site lies roughly 175km north of the state’s capital Perth and cloe to Dandaragan in the Wheat-belt region of Western Australia.

Road access to the project property is possible via the Brand Highway, which links Perth to the northern outskirts.

Transmission and off-take of power generated by Yandin

The power generated by the project will be transmitted to Western Power’s existing 330kV Neerabup-Three Springs transmission line. It will be ultimately forwarded to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

Western Power will construct a new 10km transmission line and a terminal station as part of the power transmission from Yandin wind farm.

The onsite substation will step-up the voltage from 33kV to 330kV, before the power is evacuated to the national grid. Alinta Energy has agreed sell the electricity to the State Government of Western Australia under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Contractors involved

In February 2019, Vestas secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for developing the Yandin wind farm.

Vestas also agreed to ensure maximum efficiency of the plant under a 25-year active output management (AOM) 4000 service agreement. The agreement also comprises scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of the wind turbines, electrical, and civil balance-of-plant works.