Australia confirms plan for southern hemisphere's largest wind farm

Plans for the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere took a leap forward today when Australian firm AGL Energy inked a deal with New Zealand-based renewable energy developer Meridian Energy to build a 420MW facility.

The $1bn wind farm near Hamilton, 260km west of Melbourne, is due to be completed in early 2013.

The site will consist of 140 Vestas turbines and will have the capacity to power more than 220,000 homes. AGL said the development would help to cut carbon emissions by more than 1.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, equivalent to taking more than 420,000 cars off the road.

AGL chief executive Michael Fraser hailed the project as the "most ambitious " renewable project in Australia in recent history.

"The joint venture between AGL and Meridian combines the considerable experience and complementary skill sets of the largest renewable developers in Australia and New Zealand," he said. "I have great confidence the partnership will deliver significant benefits for both parties."

AGL and Meridian will each fund 50 per cent of the capital cost of constructing the wind farm, while AGL will receive all of the wind farm's energy output and renewable energy certificates.

The company said about 400 direct jobs and 800 indirect jobs would be generated during the construction phase of the project. The completed wind farm will then employ 30 full-time staff during its anticipated 25-year life span.

Leighton Contractors has been awarded a $290m contract for the engineering, procurement and construction work.

AGL and Meridian had been working on the project for five years, but it was put on hold while the firms awaited changes to Australia's renewable energy legislation.

The plans were revived last month after the Australian Senate finally approved revisions to laws which upped renewable targets to 20 per cent by 2020 - meaning around 9,500MW of new renewable generation capacity must be built this decade.

"The amendments supported the development of large-scale renewable projects, " Fraser said.

AGL currently sources a third of its power from renewables but will spend a further A$10bn ($9bn) to add another 5,000MW of renewable capacity, Fraser added.