Neoen’s $1 billion Yathroo wind farm has been quietly approved by a Wheatbelt shire, paving the way for its development and an additional 500 megawatts of wind energy into the system.
Neoen’s $1 billion Yathroo wind farm has been quietly approved by a Wheatbelt shire, paving the way for its development and an additional 500 megawatts of wind energy into the system.
The Shire of Dandaragan recently voted to unanimously approve the wind farm 120km north of Perth, slated for development across 15,617 hectares of land between Yathroo and Mimegarra.
The proposed wind farm will comprise 65 wind turbines standing 170 metres high, and a battery energy storage system with 400 megawatts and 3,200 megawatt hours of capacity alongside the Brand Highway. The turbines have a maximum production capacity of 500MW.
Business News understands that a final investment decision is targeted for the final quarter this year, with a target of delivery by October 2029.
The project is expected to take three years to build, with 450 jobs to be created in construction and 15 permanent roles in operation phase.
The shire’s approval is a major tick for Neoen and came with an extended timeframe for project development.
“Due to the scale and complexity of the development, it is recommended that the approval be issued for a period of four years instead of the standard two years,” the shire’s meeting minutes noted.
Behind Atmos Renewables’ Parron wind farm at Badgingarra, Yathroo is the second-most advanced major wind project to obtain development approval.
The project will connect to the $1.2 billion Clean Energy Link - North transmission network being rolled out by Western Power – a key component in the state government’s ambition to take the South West Interconnected System off coal-fired generation by the end of the decade.
It is one of several major projects on the books for Neoen in Western Australia.
The French-headquartered renewables giant recently switched on the second stage of its big battery at Collie in the South West, and commenced construction of a battery at Muchea which is being built in conjunction with Tesla and UGL.
A $650 million Neoen wind farm also received development approval in Narrogin in September.
While the Narrogin project was approved with some caution, Neoen’s submission to the Shire of Dandaragan was voted through with the unanimous approval of seven councillors.
The approval comes as pressure mounts over the delivery of wind energy projects to support the SWIS transition away from coal.
At an industry event last month, Premier Roger Cook urged industrial proponents to “lean in” to the energy transition by committing to buy offtake from proposed renewable developments.
Waddi wind farm developer Tilt Renewables recently secured a buyer for 100 per cent of the expected 108 megawatts per annum of wind energy to be generated by its as-yet unbuilt project near Yathroo.
Narrogin, Parron, Yathroo and Waddi are among a slew of new capacity which is slated to come online in the second half of the decade (see table).
If delivered as promised, the projects will add more than 1,000 new turbines to the WA energy mix with a combined value above $11 billion – for those where pricing has been disclosed.
Another major player in the sector, Collgar Renewables, is plotting five new wind farm developments in WA with a combined capacity of 1,700MW.
Business News can reveal three of those projects – in the Wheatbelt near Collgar’s existing namesake wind farm – are tracking towards final investment decisions in 2027.
Those developments are set against an ongoing debate over the future of energy nationwide.
The federal National Party recently stepped back from its commitment to a net zero by 2050 target and the federal Liberal Party is weighing up its position.
- For more on the opportunities and risks facing the wind farm sector in Western Australia in the years to come, see the New Energy feature in the upcoming November 17 edition of Business News.
