February 6, 2015
Australia

Ararat wind farm to go ahead with government backing

By CARLY WERNER | The Wimmera Mail-Times | Feb. 6, 2015 | www.mailtimes.com.au

A planned Ararat wind farm will go ahead.

The ACT Government announced on Friday it would use the wind farm to help produce electricity for Canberra as part of a $50-million investment.

The farm is expected to be operational by 2017.

It is one of three wind farm projects the government committed to at the ACT’s first wind energy reverse auction.

The three farms will supply 33 per cent of Canberra’s electricity needs.

ACT Environment Minister Simon Corbell said the farms would deliver almost 200 megawatts of renewable energy generation capacity for the ACT, enough to power 107,000 Canberra homes.

“Today’s announcement delivers the single largest step-change in emissions reductions of any jurisdiction in Australia.

“Through this auction the ACT Government has secured renewable energy at the lowest possible price.”

Mr Corbell said the auction outcome set a new benchmark for wind farm community engagement practices in Australia.

He said it should provide a strong incentive for new projects to engage with communities in a more meaningful and co-operative manner.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/02/06/ararat-wind-farm-to-go-ahead-with-government-backing/