Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon has announced an ambitious proposal to build a $1.3 billion renewable energy project on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, centred around a wind farm of up to 600MW and a biomass plant that could produce up to 120MW.

The proposal is still in its early stages and has yet to even complete feasibility studies, let alone getting to the planning approval stage, or obtain finance. But apparently it has the enthusiastic support of the state government, which is keen to reach its goal of having 33 per cent of its energy come from renewables, and from local landowners who initiated the project to take advantage of their rich wind resources.

The Ceres project will be linked to the main grid near Adelaide via a 60kms sub-sea high voltage direct current connection across the Gulf of St Vincent. That cable will be built by ABB, and while it is more expensive than an overland connection (some estimates of around $200 million), it will reduce losses and deliver the electricity into the grid near Adelaide.

The cost of the cable, however, means that scale of the whole project needs to be big. Suzlon, hopes to install up to 180 turbines in the wind farm, and is likely to use the 3.4MW turbines produced by its subsidiary RePower.

The project will be located around 20km south west of Ardrossan. Wind will be backed up by a biomass plant using crop waste from the local farming community. This will start with a pilot plant, but Suzlon Australia managing director Dan Hansen said it could be as big as 120MW, and able to “firm” the wind power which is usually intermittent and improve the economics of the project.

“It would give us a better quality energy source, and it also gives opportunity to all landowners to supply their crop waste to the plant, rather than just burn it as they do now,” Hansen told Climate Spectator in an interview. The project could also include other renewable technologies such as solar, which are being investigated.

Thw wind resource on the Yorke Pensinsula is considered very good, with average speeds of 8m/second, which should deliver capacity factors in the high 30s to low 40 per cent. Hansen said the scale of the project and its resources, couple with the biomass backup, should ensure it is producing energy at the lower range of wind farm costs, which range from around $90/MWh to more than $120/MWh.

Suzlon says the project was initiated by a local farmer John Mcfarlane, who has worked to find a major partner to realise the Project’s social, economic and environmental benefits. Suzlon and its project partner ABB intend to become “facilitators” rather than developers of the project, and will need to find funding – either from third party investors or more likely from one of the big utilities.

“The Ceres Project will create local jobs, place the region on the global map as a leader in renewable technology and give Yorke Peninsula farmers and landowners the opportunity to diversify their income streams,” Hansen said in a statement. He also said the undersea link will include a fibre optic link.

ABB said its HVDC transmission technology was ideal for connecting remote wind farms to mainland networks and overcoming distance limitations and grid constraints, while ensuring minimal electrical losses and efficient performance. ABB built the 180km underground  Murraylink 220 MW interconnector between South Australia and Victoria in 2002.