Construction of the $236 million Bodangora wind farm near Wellington is set to proceed after reaching financial close this month.
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The project will create a substantial number of jobs and stimulate significant economic activity in the local region.
- Ross Rolfe
Infigen Energy made the announcement this week on acquiring a further 50 per cent interest in the project. As owner of 100 per cent of the equity in the project, Infigen will provide the equity funding and will operate the wind farm once completed.
The project – to be built under an engineering, procurement and construction contract – is predicted to be fully operational in the second half of 2018.
Dubbo Regional Council administrator, Michael Kneipp, said the construction will bode well for the town particularly during the construction phase.
“Certainly during the construction phase there will be a lot of activity and hopefully the restaurants and accommodation in Wellington well benefit greatly by that,” he said.
“Once it is up and running it’s only a relatively small team of people who maintain it but any extra job in town is very welcome.”
He said long term benefits will include a strong income stream for farmers who host turbines.
Infigen managing director, Ross Rolfe, said the project will provide around 120 direct jobs during construction and seven full-time jobs during its operating life.
“This project could not proceed without the support of the local community for which we are grateful,” he said.
“The project will create a substantial number of jobs and stimulate significant economic activity in the local region.
“Infigen looks forward to continuing to build strong links with the local community through these activities.”
Mr Rolfe said building Bodangora wind farm is the first significant milestone in delivering on Infigen’s growth ambitions.
He believes that the combination of revenues from the PPA and the sale of electricity and LGCs through various channels to market will enable the investment in Bodangora to create value for Infigen’s security holders.
“In a market with ageing coal-fired generation and expensive gas, the combination of renewable technologies and storage can offer secure and reliable supply in a lower emissions economy,” he said. “The opportunity and capacity to integrate a substantial volume of new renewable energy generation in NSW makes the state one of the key markets for Infigen.”
