AGL managing director Greg Martin said AGL wanted to develop an integrated gas-fired and wind farm operation at Hallett that would let the company extract maximum value from the existing facility. AGL also is continuing to examine potential additional opportunities to take advantage of the area’s sizeable wind resource.

Evaluation work is continuing on a proposed $100 million plus expansion of the Hallett gas-fired plant. A decision on whether to proceed with the expansion will be made in late 2005, Martin said.

“AGL is committed to increasing the amount of electricity it generates from renewable sources,” Martin said.

“With the additional capacity from the proposed wind farm, Hallett is well positioned to play an important role in providing clean energy to meet the growing electricity demand in South Australia.”

AGL is currently evaluating competitive contracts for the turnkey design and construction of the wind farm. Subject to board and other necessary approvals, construction of the wind farm is scheduled to commence around July 2005, with commissioning expected to be completed by the end of 2006.

Integration of the facilities will mean that the existing gas-fired generation capacity at Hallett will be able to provide adequate back-up support to the wind farm, enabling continuous operation of the expanded power station during periods of high electricity demand.

The development of an integrated facility would also result in the proposed wind farm being connected to the existing grid connection at Hallett, ensuring high utilisation of existing infrastructure and improving the economics of supplying energy from the wind farm, AGL said.