A new $450 million wind farm in Port Augusta, South Australia, is progressing, following the signing of two Large-Scale Generation Certificate (LGC) offtake agreements between the developer and a major Australian energy company.
ERM Power signed the agreements with Nexif Energy to purchase LGCs produced by the Lincoln Gap Wind Farm located 15km west of Port Augusta.
The Lincoln Gap Wind Farm Project is a 212MW initiative involving the construction and operation of up to 59 wind turbines which will feed into the South Australia’s electricity grid via the Electranet transmission network and produce enough electricity to power around 111,000 homes. It also includes allowances for battery storage of power.
Nexif Energy Australia CEO, Zeki Akbas, said the deal was a significant milestone for the project and took it closer to financial closure.
“These long-term agreements will see ERM Power buy LGCs generated by the Lincoln Gap Wind Farm in the coming years helping deliver renewable energy into the grid,” Mr Akbas said.
“It is a vote of confidence in the project, the town of Port Augusta and South Australia at a time when the need for innovative and reliable energy solutions in the State has never been higher.
“The project will also create a substantial number of jobs and stimulate economic activity in the region.”
ERM Power Managing Director and CEO, Jon Stretch, said it was gratifying to support a project which had been a long time in development and which delivered new renewable sources of energy in Australia.
“We’re helping deliver new wind and solar energy into the system like this Nexif Energy wind project due to commence construction west of Port Augusta this year,” Mr Stretch said.
“ERM Power delivers 20 per cent of the energy fuelling business, government and industrials in Australia, which has enabled us to underpin the construction of new renewable infrastructure.”
Construction of the Lincoln Gap Wind Farm is expected to start in late 2017 with the project expected to be generating electricity by mid-2018.
