wiredinUSA October 2015

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wiredInUSA - October 2015 37 ASIA / AFRICA NEWS
Siemens and Neoen Australia have
signed a contract for the Hornsdale wind
farm project, located in the state of South
Australia.
After commissioning, the Hornsdale wind
power plant is expected to produce over
400GWh per year – an amount of energy
equivalent toa fifthof the territory’s annual
electricity consumption. At the signing
ceremony, Australian Capital Territory’s
environment minister, Simon Corbell,
emphasized: “As one of the winners of
our first wind auction, Hornsdale plays a
critical role in helping the ACT to achieve
its 90 percent renewable target.”
The Hornsdale project will support the
renewable energy center of excellence
at theCanberra Institute of Technology by
creating opportunities for employment,
training and investment in both the ACT
and South Australia.
Construction on the project will begin
immediately. Siemens will provide full
turnkey services, including 32 wind
turbines, with associated civil and
electrical infrastructure. Siemens will also
maintain the wind farm for Neoen on a
long-term maintenance contract.
Hornsdale underway
China is investing around $313 billion over
the next five years to improve its power
grid infrastructure.
Citing a report published on the National
Energy Administration (NEA) site, China
Electric Power News said that the funding
will double the length of high voltage
transmission lines to over one million
kilometers, reported Reuters.
The 2015-2020 investment plan will also
strengthen sectors such as copper. About
half of the estimated 8.7 million tons of
copper consumption in China was used
by power projects in 2014.
China is also considering an upgrade
to its cross-country power transmission
capacity to take surplus energy from
the resource-rich far western area to
the eastern coast, helping to reduce
the region’s dependency on coal. The
country has already built ultra-high
voltage power lines to connect the giant
thermal power and hydroelectric stations
in the west to eastern coastal regions of
the country.
The government is also planning to
launch spot electricity trading platforms
to enable generators and users to set
their own tariffs, currently set by the state.
China’s grid boost