Macarthur Wind Farm (VIC)

Background

The 420MW Macarthur Wind Farm, made up of 140 3MW turbines, is currently the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and is jointly owned by AGL Energy Limited (AGL) and Malakoff Corporation Berhad.

Construction of the Macarthur Wind Farm took approximately 2.5 years and it has been fully operational since late January 2013. Leighton Contractors and Vestas were engaged by AGL to construct the Wind Farm.

The Macarthur site covers approximately 5,500 hectares of freehold agricultural land that is located approximately 16km east of Macarthur, between Hamilton and Warnambool in south western Victoria.

A substation within the Macarthur site is the wind farm collection point, and a 33-kV overhead transmission line connects the northern wind farm sections. At Macarthur substation, the voltage is stepped up to 132 kV for onward transmission via overhead lines to the Tarrone substation. The voltage is stepped up again at Tarrone to 500 kV, and the wind farm supply is connected to the main grid through an adjacent facility, which is a separate AGL contract.

Our client, Vestas is continuing to play an important role in the ongoing operations of Macarthur Wind Farm.

Our role

Vestas commissioned Thomson Bridge to develop a tailored 500 kV High Voltage awareness training program for staff who are required to access the Tarrone substation.

Project Details

• Client: Vestas Australia
• Client website: www.vestas.com.au
• Our role: Practical 500kV awareness course