Fin close reached on 396-MW Rye Park wind project in NSW

The construction of the 396-MW Rye Park wind farm in New South Wales, Australia, is slated to begin later this year after financial close on the project has been reached.

The milestone was announced on Wednesday by developer Tilt Renewables, now part of Australian renewable energy provider Powering Australian Renewables (PowAR).

Set to become the state’s largest wind power complex, Rye Park will be installed near the township with the same name in the state's Southern Tablelands region. Once fully operational in the first quarter of 2024, it will be capable of producing some 1,188 GWh of electricity per year, to be enough to supply about 215,000 homes. The huge plant will be powered by 66 of Vestas Wind Systems A/S’ EnVentus platform V162-6.2 MW wind turbines in a 6.0 MW operating mode. The hardware will be delivered and installed by the Danish turbine manufacturer.

Onsite construction activities are scheduled to begin in the closing quarter of this year. Local construction firm Zenviron will take care of the electrical and civil balance of plant (BOP) works, while Lumea will be in charge of grid-connection activities.

The project has in place a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Newcrest Mining Ltd that will see the gold miner buy around 55% of the wind park’s output for its Cadia mine in New South Wales.

PowAR, a joint venture between AGL Energy, Queensland government-owned investment group QIC and the federal government’s Future Fund, took control of Tilt’s Aussie business in August.

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