The Silverton Wind Farm in New South Wales, Australia, the country’s sixth largest, has an installed capacity of 200 megawatts. In a typical year, the wind farm could power more than 137,000 homes. Studies also indicate it will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 655,000 tonnes.
A joint venture of Catcon and GE are delivering the 58 Wind Turbine Generators (WTG) wind farm under an EPC contract, with TransGrid responsible for the connection works. It is targeted to be fully operational by mid-2018.
Cost-Effective Project Delivery
WSP is acting as the Lenders’ Independent Certifier during the construction phase of the wind farm. The team certifies project payment milestones, authorises drawing down of debt funds for the payment of project invoices including cost and time to complete tests and certifies project costs. WSP is also responsible for monitoring and reporting on construction progress including regular site visits to inspect the works.
During the development of the project, WSP was separately contracted by Silverton Wind Farm Development Pty Ltd to provide full-time supervision of its preliminary geotechnical investigation program. The WSP team was responsible for assessing nine previously selected turbine sites and determining ground conditions. WSP provided recommendations for suitable foundations, including mass gravity turbine foundation structures. The team also made recommendations for batter slopes, excavations, and drainage.