A proposed wind farm near Wellington would power up to 370,000 homes, drives millions of dollars in investment and create hundreds of local jobs, plans reveal.
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The Spicers Creek Wind Farm - to be located around 35 kilometres north east of Wellington - has been in the works since 2018 and is now one step closer to fruition with plans for the project now on exhibition.
Clay Preshaw, Executive Director of Energy, Resources and Industry Assessments at the Department of Planning and Environment, is urging the public to have their say on the project.
"Local residents and stakeholders have a vital role to play in the development of this project which, if approved, seeks to deliver up to 117 wind turbines that could produce 700-megawatts of electricity for 370,000 homes across NSW," he said.
"That's equivalent to around half the generating capacity of the Mt Piper coal fired power station in the NSW Southern Highlands.
"It would also feature a 400-megawatt, with up to 1,800-megawatt per hour battery energy storage system, that would capture, store and distribute energy to 160,000 homes, which would contribute to grid stability and energy security."
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The project is part of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), which covers almost 21,000 square kilometres and is expected to have a network capacity of 4.5 gigawatts.
"The project is located in an area which will be coordinated with other projects and connections to the transmission network," Squadron Energy, the company behind the wind farm, says in the plans.
"This coordinated approach will contribute significant capital investment and generate jobs during the construction and operational phases, and provide indirect benefits to local businesses throughout the life of the wind farm."
The Spicers Creek Wind Farm is expected to create 320 direct jobs and 520 indirect jobs during the construction phase. During the 30-year life of the wind farm it would create 12 jobs and 35 indirect jobs.
According to the plans, the local community will also benefit from $375 million in infrastructure investment and an estimated $2 billion expected to be spent in the region as a result of the project.
Feedback can be made on the project through the NSW Planning Portal. Submissions will close on Thursday, August 24.
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