The government of Western Australia has officially opened the Yandin wind farm, jointly owned by Alinta Energy and RATCH-Australia.

Located 175 km north of Perth, the 214 MW wind farm was built with an investment of A $ 450 million ($ 348 million).

The site was chosen because of its abundant local wind resources and its proximity to the grid.

Equipped with 51 Vestas turbines, the wind power plant can generate enough renewable energy to power more than 200,000 homes in Western Australia per year.

In its construction phase, which lasted nearly a million hours, the project created nearly 150 jobs and opportunities for businesses in the region.

Energy Minister Bill Johnston said: “Congratulations to Alinta Energy, RATCH-Australia and the community of Dandaragan for the launch of the Yandin Wind Farm, the largest renewable energy facility in Western Australia. .

“With the many challenges encountered around Covid-19, it was fantastic to see this project completed, which reflects the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the project.

“Projects like this wind farm illustrate the great potential we have in Western Australia to take advantage of the global transition to clean energy technologies.”

Johnston said renewable energy technologies must be developed in order to minimize energy costs and meet the government’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

The South West Interconnected System, Western Australia’s main electricity grid, currently has around 1.6 GW of renewable energy capacity, including wind farms and rooftop solar systems.

Last October, the Australian government granted “major project status” to the Asian Renewable Energy Hub project, a 36 billion Australian dollars (25.7 billion dollars) wind and solar project.

The project would initially focus on developing 15 GW of capacity, before increasing it to 26 GW at a later stage.

According to Reuters, the hub would be developed in an area of ​​6500 km² of the Pilbara region.