Gullen Range Wind Farm
Gullen Range Wind Farm is an operational wind farm in the Southern Tablelands of NSW, Australia. It is owned by New Gullen Range Wind Farm Pty Ltd (NGRWF). The wind farm consists of 73 turbines and produces 165.5MW of renewable power in ideal wind conditions.
On an average day it produces enough energy to power in excess of 70,000 average homes. By the end of 2022, Gullen Range Wind Farm had saved 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional power generation.
Stretching from north to south, the wind farm measures 22km, approximately centred on the locality of Bannister, 11km South of Crookwell and 32km north west of Goulburn.
BJCE Australia is proud to be a founding signatory of the Clean Energy Council’s Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Developments. The charter is a voluntary set of commitments to reflect our promise to develop and operate projects in a socially responsible way. The charter can be downloaded here.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like further information, or if you would like to provide feedback or lodge a complaint about the wind farm.
News
The latest wind farm news is below. You can view archive news here and download our newsletters here.
News item: 31/10/2024: Gullen Range Wind Farm welcomes Crookwell High School students
Year 8 students from Crookwell High School visited Gullen Range Wind Farm on 30 October to undertake a site tour. The group were given an introduction to the wind farm substation for an understanding of how energy is generated and distributed to the grid, as well as having the chance to check out the safety equipment used by our site team.
The students then had the opportunity to get up close to a turbine and gain insights into how the turbines operate. All of the students (and teachers) marvelled at size and scale of the structures.
Finally, the group toured to Gullen Range Solar Farm to learn about the country’s first ever co-located solar farm.
It was great to see so many students engaged in deepening their understanding of the renewable energy industry, and to have the chance to share more about our day-to-day work at the wind farm.
Crookwell High students had the opportunity to get up close to a wind turbine on their tour.
News item: 08/10/2024: Public tour scheduled for 09 October 2024 cancelled
The next tour scheduled for Wednesday, 9 October 2024 has unfortunately been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Visitors who had booked a place on this tour have been notified, and we are working to confirm an alternate date as soon as possible. Attendees who had booked for the 9 October tour will be advised and provided an opportunity to visit on the rescheduled date.
Our tour bookings page will be updated with future scheduled tour dates. If you have any enquiries about our public tours, please contact us.
Local Rural Fire Service (RFS) station representatives will be visiting Biala and Gullen Range Wind Farms, as well as Gullen Solar Farm, on Friday, 27th of September. This is an annual exercise to ensure that local RFS services are familiar with the wind and solar farms’, access points and water sources to prepare for the coming fire season.
RFS trucks from stations at Crookwell, Bannister, Grabben Gullen and Biala will meet at the Biala Wind Farm entrance before driving through the internal access roads across both wind farm sites. We will also be hosting a BBQ lunch with the representatives to allow for an opportunity to further discuss bushfire preparedness.
News item: 29/08/2024: Clean Energy Program funding round closing soon
Applications for the next round of the Clean Energy Program (CLEP) will close on 22 September 2024.
The Clean Energy Program provides financial contributions for clean energy improvements to eligible properties within 5km of the Gullen Range Wind Farm.
Stage 1 of the Program provides for an energy efficiency expert to conduct an audit of an eligible residence, and can be applied for at any time. Once Stage 1 has been completed, eligible residences can apply for Stage 2 funding, with grants available for energy efficiency improvements to a property. In 2024, funding up to $8,130 per eligible property is available.
Further information on the CLEP can be found here. Should you have any queries or require assistance with an application, please contact us on [email protected] or 1800 509 711.
Successful recipients of the 2024/25 Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Fund have been announced, with six local groups receiving support for initiatives ranging from publicly accessible defibrillators for the Crookwell community to improvements to a new machinery shed for the local golf course maintenance association.
The grants were assessed by the Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Fund S355 Committee and were approved in the June 2024 Ordinary Meeting of Council.
More than $60,000 was provided in funding across the successful applications this year, which included:
Rotary Club of Crookwell: Defibrillators for Crookwell ($4,900, plus a commitment of up to an additional $5,000 to cover maintenance costs for five years)
Bannister District Hall Association: A Hall for All – Storage and Maintenance ($2,164.80)
Anglican Church (Parish of Crookwell), St George’s Church, Kialla: Fencing works ($7,222,60)
Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway: Procurement of a 40-foot shipping container ($5,400)
Goulburn Crookwell Heritage Railway: Relocation of Pay Bus FP12 ($1,320)
Crookwell Golf Course Maintenance Association Inc: New Machinery Shed ($40,000)
News item: 23/08/2024: Gullen Range helps to inspire a future in STEM for local students
Gullen Range Wind Farm representatives attended the “Keep Local and Build a Future in STEM” event at Mulwaree High School on 20-21 August, with more than 80 students working in groups to complete various challenges. The event is designed to encourage high school students to not only consider a career in STEM, but to explore some of the fantastic job opportunities in the field in the local area.
Gullen Range Site Manager Andrew Sinclair talked students through his career path into renewable energy, as well as some of the diverse opportunities for employment in the construction and operation of wind farms in the local area. Students were then tasked with a STEM challenge – to build the most efficient wind turbine. Using blades of differing lengths, weights and angles, students worked together to test out various designs to come up with the best model. With stiff competition from all of the schools across the two days, it was great to see the students so engaged! Crookwell High narrowly came out on top with a late entry that managed to deliver the highest voltage design.
Thank you to the Department of Education’s Regional Industry Education Partnerships team who helped to organise and facilitate such a wonderful and engaging STEM event.
News item: 20/06/2024: June Community Newsletter
The June 2024 Community Update is now available to read and download here.
News item: 18/06/2024: Book your FREE tour ticket and visit Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm
Get up close to a wind turbine and a solar array at our next public tour. The next tour will be held on Wednesday, 9 October 2024 from 11 am. To book your free ticket click here.
News item: 24/05/2024: UPDATE – Turbine checks following earthquake at Taralga
Inspections of wind turbines at Biala and Gullen Range Wind Farms have now been completed, with no issues found following the earthquake on Thursday morning.
News item: 23/05/2024: Turbine checks following earthquake at Taralga
Following this morning’s earthquake, our teams have enacted our emergency response plans, which includes inspecting all turbine foundation bolts, tower bolts and the general condition of each turbine. We expect the inspections to be completed within the next 48 hours. Our wind turbines are built to withstand events such as this and inspections are undertaken as a best practice and precautionary measure. Once they have been completed we will provide an update to the community.
News item: 16/05/2024: Next CCC meeting date announced
The next CCC meeting will be held on Wednesday 30 October 2024 from 4pm. For more information click here.