Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Goldwind) has signed connection agreements with Powercor Australia to connect 13 Goldwind 1.5 MW turbines to the Australian grid. The turbines will be located at Mortons Lane Wind Farm in Victoria’s western district. This significant step demonstrates that Goldwind’s state of the art Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) technology satisfies strict Australian grid codes.
Local network operator Powercor Australia performed the assessments required for grid connection.
“Mortons Lane is Goldwind’s first project in Australia. We’re looking forward to providing more Australian customers with Goldwind’s grid-friendly PMDD wind turbines that feature high reliability and power generation efficiency,” said John Titchen, Managing Director of Goldwind Australia.
The Goldwind’s PMDD wind turbine has a full power converter that provides continuous, stable performance allowing the turbine to operate in a variety of network conditions including the low capacity networks of western Victoria. Goldwind’s low voltage ride through (LVRT) capability ensures connectivity to the grid despite grid disturbances.
Construction commenced at Mortons Lane Wind Farm in October 2011. The project will house 13 Goldwind GW82/1500 wind turbines (82 m rotor diameter, each unit is rated at 1500 kW maximum capacity), annually generating up to 66.7GWh of renewably generated electricity. The turbines are scheduled for installation in February 2012.
