Preferred consortium announced for $430m Sapphire Wind Farm in NSW

Australian Wind Technology Pty Ltd has secured a $430 million contract for the delivery of the 270-megawatts Sapphire Wind Farm located at northern New South Wales. Australian Wind Technology is a joint venture between Zenviron – a ZEM Engery-Monadelphous joint venture – and Danish wind energy company Vestas.

Zenviron will be delivering civil as well as electrical balance of plant works while Vestas will be be supplying and installing the wind turbines for the wind farm.

“This award is a significant strategic milestone for Zenviron, positioning us as a leader in renewable energy projects across Australia and New Zealand.

“The extensive technical and design experience of our team, along with our multidisciplinary engineering and construction capability, makes us well-placed to deliver this landmark project,” said Zenviron Director Nick Perrott.

The Sapphire Wind Farm is going to be located 18-kilometres west of Glen Innes and 28-kilometres west of Inverell in the New England Tablelands. Sapphire Wind Farm will become the largest capacity wind farm in the State once it is fully operational. The wind farm will be able to supply clean energy to approximately 110,000 houses while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 600,000 tonnes annually.

Various benefits will be brought into the local Glen Innes and Inverell communities, with about 200 jobs to be provided and at least $10 million to be injected into the local economy during the Sapphire Wind Farm’s construction phase.

The project is expected to be completed by the second half of 2018.

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Source: Monadelphous, Gold Coast Bulletin and The West Australian