The Gullen Range Wind Farm in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands, which will employ 73 permanent magnetic direct drive (PMDD) 2.5MW turbines, is the first large-scale wind farm to receive a connection agreement from TransGrid since early 2011.
The Goldwind PMDD wind turbine has a full power converter that offers flexibility to control rotational speed and needs no reactive plant to be installed at the farm.
Goldwind Australia managing director John Titchen said Gullen Range is the company’s second wind farm in Australia and the first to use 2.5MW PMDD wind turbines.
"The project now has both a Grid Connection Agreement and a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)," he added.
Construction of the project is expected to commence in October 2012 and it will be completed and connected to the TransGrid 330kV transmission network by the end of 2013.
TransGrid managing director Peter McIntyre said the NSW transmission network is an efficient and secure platform to connect the Goldwind Gullen Range Wind Farm to the national grid, helping facilitate a competitive and efficient national electricity market.
"The energy industry is undergoing a period of significant change and transmission networks will be a key facilitator in the shift to lower emission and renewable energy generation sources," he said.
