Tilt Renewables starts producing power at 54-MW Aussie wind farm

Tilt Renewables Ltd (NZE:TLT) has brought online its 54-MW Salt Creek wind park in Western Victoria, Australia, and started exporting power to the grid.

The renewable energy company said in a bourse statement last week that it will proceed with further testing and commissioning of the facility over the coming weeks, expecting to kick off commercial operations and reach full power production in July.

The Salt Creek wind farm is powered by 15 turbines supplied by Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS). The output of the machines, which are all in place now, will be sold under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Aussie unit of New Zealand’s Meridian Energy Ltd (NZE:MEL). The electricity retailer will take half of the plant’s output at a fixed price until the end of this year and then purchase the entire output from January 1, 2019 to end-2030.

The remaining 50% of the generated electricity in 2018 will be sold into the wholesale market, including through Largescale Generation Certificate (LGC) forward contracts.

The Salt Creek wind park was built under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Vestas and Australian firm Zenviron Pty Ltd. It will be operated and maintained by Vestas for 25 years, once it moves into the operational phase.

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