Leightons and GE awarded $1.3m Geraldton windfarm contract

The consortium of Leighton Contractors and GE has won a $130m contract by the Verve Energy and Macquarie Capital joint venture to develop the Mumbida Wind Farm, 40 km south-east of Geraldton, WA.

The development will generate 55 MW of renewable electricity into the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) - enough energy to power around 35,000 homes and offset approximately 165,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. It is expected the wind farm will be complete by November 2012.

The project will be delivered by Leighton Contractors and GE through a single engineering, procure, construct (EPC) contract, comprising the wind turbine generators mounted on 85 m towers, electrical and civil balance of plant and a 22 kV/132 kV substation. The full maintenance service agreement will be provided by GE for a 10-year period, immediately following practical completion.

Mark Chilcote, General Manager of Leighton Contractors’ Industrial & Energy Division, said the company was proud to be selected to deliver another fundamental piece of renewable energy infrastructure. The company’s renewable energy projects include the current $1 billion Macarthur Wind Farm in Victoria, Lake Bonney Wind Farm and Canunda Wind Farm in South Australia, and the Waubra Wind Farm, also in Victoria.

The Mumbida Wind Farm project will use GE’s 2.5 MW wind turbines.

Tim Rourke, Chief Executive Officer of GE Energy, said the 2.5 series wind turbine is GE’s flagship onshore wind technology platform, designed for a high level of reliability and featuring industry-leading grid integration capabilities.

The Mumbida Wind Farm will support the Western Australian government’s Energy 2031 Strategy that is designed to meet the state’s rapidly growing energy requirements with clean, reliable power.