April 2005
Canunda Wind Farm opened by State Premier

The Canunda wind farm in South Australia has now been officially opened by Premier Mike Rann. The wind farm is the first to be fully commissioned in South Australia's south east and only the second in the state. It is a joint development between developer Wind Prospect, owner International Power (Australia) and Vestas, the turbine manufacturer.

At two megawatts apiece, the 23 wind turbines are the largest in Australia and reach an impressive 107m at their highest point. Being of such a scale, the construction of the project brought many challenges yet the wind farm was completed on budget and ahead of schedule.

"Wind Prospect is proud to have been involved with this successful project from conception to commissioning. The fact that the project was completed ahead of schedule, despite the many challenges confronted during construction, is a testament to the meticulous planning of the International Power/Wind Prospect Engineering and Project Management team," stated Wind Prospect Construction Manager, Tim Knill.

The wind farm has a total capacity of 46 megawatts, which will yield approximately 135,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year. This will provide sufficient clean electricity for 30,000 average South Australian homes and reduce carbon dioxide pollution by around 135,000 tonnes per year.

The opening represents more success for Australia's leading wind farm developer, Wind Prospect Pty Ltd. The McLaren Vale based company has gained planning approval for an additional eight wind farms in South Australia totalling over 600 megawatts, with one of these projects, Mt Millar, consisting of 35 Enercon two megawatt machines, currently under construction by project owners Tarong Energy.

According to Michael Vawser, Wind Prospect's Managing Director, the completion of the Canunda wind farm is a significant accomplishment in Wind Prospect's long involvement in wind farm development both in South Australia and overseas.

"Having been involved in wind farm development in South Australia for over five years, it is gratifying that one of our developments is only the second wind farm to be completed in the state (the first being Starfish Hill). Along with International Power, we are extremely proud of this achievement, and we look forward to replicating this success in our future projects in this state".

Working in a climate of a two percent national Mandatory Renewable Energy Target, Wind Prospect has carved a niche for itself as a consistently successful developer in a highly competitive market.

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