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The Emu Downs project, a joint venture between Griffin Energy and the Queensland Government-owned Stanwell Corporation, is expected to generate 80 megawatts a year from its 48 wind turbines and to be in operation by the end of 2006.
It is understood the desalination plant will draw about 24 MW a year to produce its 45 gigalitres of drinking water. That leaves Emu Downs with 56 MW a year for Western Australia’s main power grid, the South West Interconnected System.
WA’s main power utility Western Power has agreed to buy Emu Downs entire output. The utility is the energy supplier to the desalination plant.
The deal will make the desalination plant the largest facility of its kind in the world to be supplied by renewable energy.
Emu Downs will be located 200 kilometres north of Perth and about 30km east of Cervantes, on Bibby Road at Badgingarra. It will take 16 months to build.
Stanwell CEO Ross Rolfe said the environmental impact of the windfarm would be equivalent to taking 50,000 cars off WA’s road or planting 850,000 trees.
The windfarm is not the only power generation project planned for Griffin Energy.
The company has unveiled plans to produce three 200 MW coal burning power stations at Bluewaters, near Collie.
According to a recent report by the WA Government’s Independent Market Operator, the first of those plants is due to be operating by late 2008 with the other two scheduled to come online in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
