Approval has been given for one of the world’s biggest onshore wind farms to be built near Broken Hill in New South Wales. The massive 1 gigawatt Silverton Wind Farm will consist of 598 turbines. The farm will be able to generate enough power for about 430,000 homes. This also represents about 4.5% of New South Wales’ total energy needs.
At present, the federal government in Australia wants 20% of the country’s power to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. As I’ve previously stated, I’d certainly like to see that target raised a good deal more.
The project site states that the wind farm will contribute more than $700 Million to the regional economy, providing jobs and other economic benefits. The $2 billion project will be built by German renewable energy company Conergy.
It’s good to see plans for substantial renewable energy projects in Australia, given that Australia is one of the worst per capita polluters, due to a reliance on large supplies of coal.
