Largest wind farm in Southern Hemisphere officially opens

Owned by Australian-based AGL Energy and New Zealand-based Meridian Energy, the Macarthur Wind Farm is a genuinely global construction, engineering, and technology project, with equipment and personnel coming together from four continents.  Vestas and Leighton Contractors combined to deliver the logistically complex, AUD $1 billion Macarthur Wind Farm three months ahead of schedule.

With the Macarthur project, Vestas has installed more than 50 per cent of the cumulative wind energy capacity in Australia.  When the 168 MW Musselroe project comes online later this year, that number will rise to almost 60 per cent.

“Vestas is strongly committed to the Australian market and very pleased to have such good working relations with our key customers here,” says Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel.  “Australia is now enjoying the benefits of large-scale clean energy investment and jobs, thanks to its Renewable Energy Target. Bipartisan support for this policy is a crucial element in creating the long-term business certainty to make billion dollar investments like the Macarthur project a reality.”

The Macarthur project was the first to purchase the Vestas V112-3.0 MW wind turbine.  AGL Managing Director & CEO Michael Fraser says, “The V112-3.0 MW is the perfect solution to meet our need for a highly-productive and cost-effective turbine for the medium wind speeds on the project site.”

Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas’ around 49,000 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by over 60 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence.

Today, Vestas has delivered wind energy in 73 countries, providing jobs for around 18,000 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 62 per cent more megawatts installed than our closest competitor and more than 55 GW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com.