$600m Merredin wind farm approved

The Merredin Shire Council has today approved the development of a $600 million wind farm that will generate enough electricity to power 160,000 homes.

Farm Weekly today reported that Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd will fund and develop the Collgar wind farm, which is a joint venture with the CSIRO-backed Windlab Systems Pty Ltd.

The project, consisting of 127 wind turbines and capable of generating up to 900,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year, will be constructed on a 13,000 hectare site, 25 kilometres south-east of Merredin.

Up to 200 jobs are expected to be created during the 18-month construction phase, with local sub-contractors invited to register their interest in the project next month.