Lincoln Gap Wind Farm

The Lincoln Gap Wind Farm is a wind farm under construction in the vicinity of Lincoln Gap on northeastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, Australia. It is proposed to consist of 59 wind turbines and generate a total of 212 MW of electricity.[2] Construction began in late 2017 and was initially expected to be commissioned in late 2018.[3] Construction was delayed in July 2018 when unexploded ordnance was discovered on the site, left from historic military testing.[4] The site is not far from the Cultana Training Area.

Lincoln Gap Wind Farm
Country	Australia
Location	15 km west of Port Augusta on the Eyre Highway at Lincoln Gap, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Coordinates	32.619°S 137.580°E
Status	Under construction
Construction began	2017
Commission date	Expected mid-2019
Construction cost	A$300M (stage 1)[1] A$170M (stage 2)
Owner(s)	Nexif Energy Australia
Wind farm
Type	Onshore
Hub height	110 m
Rotor diameter	140 m
Rated wind speed	11 m/s (36 ft/s)
Power generation
Make and model	3.6MW Senvion
Units planned	59
Units under const.	59 × 3.6 MW
Nameplate capacity	212 MW
Capacity factor	43%
Annual net output	800 GW·h
Storage capacity	10 MW·h
External links
Website	lincolngapwindfarm.com.au

Construction and commissioning

The wind farm was constructed by Senvion in two stages.[5] The first stage was 35 turbines. In December 2018, it was expected to be operational by July 2019. Stage Two for the final 24 turbines received financial approval from Nexif Energy in December 2018. A 10 MW / 10 MW·h battery was expected to be completed in May 2019 by Fluence, with a proposal to later upgrade it to 30 MW.[2] The output is contracted to retailer ERM Power.[6] Some of the towers and turbines were erected using a tower crane similar to what is used to construct high-rise buildings.[7]

The wind farm substation was connected to the national electricity grid on 25 February 2019. The energy storage battery was expected to be installed by the end of May 2019, with wind turbines commissioned from August 2019.[8] The first turbine exported electricity to the grid in the last few days of April 2019.[9]

It was reported in October 2020 that construction of Stage 2 had begun, at a cost of A$170m.[10]

References

1. "SA wind-storage project wins $150m CEFC debt funding". ecogeneration. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
2. "About the project". Lincoln Gap Wind Farm. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
3. Balsamo, Marco (13 November 2017). "Lincoln Gap Wind Farm ready for construction". The Transcontinental. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
4. Morton, Adam (20 July 2018). "Life after coal: the South Australian city leading the way". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
5. "Australia | Senvion Australia". www.senvion.com. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
6. Vorrath, Sophie (10 December 2018). "Nexif hits go on final 86MW of Lincoln Gap Wind Farm, with close of CEFC debt deal". Retrieved 10 December 2018.
7. "Project Update" (PDF). Nexif Energy. July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
8. Parkinson, Giles (25 February 2019). "Life after coal: Lincoln Gap wind farm powers up, battery to be installed soon". Renew Economy. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
9. Parkinson, Giles (29 April 2019). "Lincoln Gap wind farm delivers first power to grid as it deals with Senvion issues". RenewEconomy. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
10. Hartmann, Imogen (12 October 2020). "Massive SA renewable energy projects kick off". Energy Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.