Collgar Wind Farm
Collgar Wind Farm is the largest wind farm in Western Australia, and is located 25km south east of Merredin. The wind farm is built over a land envelope of 18,000 hectares and has 111 Vestas V90 wind turbines with a total power production capacity of 222 megawatts (MW), generating between 630-750 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, which is enough to provide electricity to power approximately 130,000 West Australian family homes.
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The project location was selected for its unique topography, world class wind resource, favourable community rapport and proximity to the power grid. Wind Power provides a natural, renewable source of energy and is playing an increasing role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
The wind farm when first commissioned almost doubled the level of renewable energy in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) from 5 percent to 9 percent.
Collgar Wind Farm generates and delivers clean, renewable electricity into the SWIS each year, thereby making a major contribution to Western Australia’s greenhouse gas reductions. These reductions are equivalent to taking 210,000 cars off our roads.
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Collgar also produces major economic benefits for Merredin and its surrounding regions. During the construction phase, Collgar employed up to 150 people over a period of two years, which had a large spin-off for local services. The ongoing financial boost during the life of the project is seen through land rent payments and community projects and sponsorship. The wind farm provides ongoing employment for a team of 10-20 locally based staff.
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Collgar is committed to the local community and is working collaboratively to ensure community expectations are met.
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This calculation was made using the SWIS emissions factors as stated in the National Greenhouse Accounts Factors (August 2023) and uses the average CO2 emissions for passenger cars as stated in the National Transport Commission’s report titled Carbon Dioxide Emissions Intensity for New Australian light Vehicles 2022 (released December 2023). We have used an average annual driving distance of 11,100km following information presented in the 2020 ABS ‘Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia.
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Quick Facts
Project Size
222 megawatts
Number of turbines
111 turbines
Turbine type
Vestas V90 2.0MW turbines
Operation commenced
October 2011
Annual Average Energy Production
Between 630 to 750 GWh producing enough electricity
to power up to 130,000 West Australian family homes
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Expected operating life
30 years
Contractor
Vestas Australian Wind Technology Pty Ltd
Size of farm
The site is located on 18,000 hectares of land located 25km
south east of Merredin in Western Australia
Collgar Wind Farm Net Zero Target
Decarbonising the power sector plays a key role in meeting emissions reduction targets in line with the flagship goal of the Paris Agreement, limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
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As a GRESB-recognised Sector Leader in Renewable Power, Collgar Wind Farm (CWF) seeks to demonstrate climate leadership by playing its part in a net zero future. CWF has set a target to achieve net zero scope 1 and 2 emissions across operations by 2035, as well as a 2030 interim target to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70%, compared to the 2022 baseline. Our targets were informed by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Science Based Targets initiative and the jurisdictional commitments. Work is also underway to identify and estimate our scope 3 emissions, at which time we will incorporate and update our targets to include scope 3 emissions.
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Assumptions
CWF’s main source of emissions is from electricity used for site operations. In our baseline year (2022), over 85% of our emissions were attributable to grid imports to support our Merredin operations.
In developing our targets, we have relied upon assumptions about the rate at which Western Australia’s electricity market will decarbonise, based on projected emissions factors published by Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Our ability to reach our net zero targets may be impacted by material delays in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) decarbonising, and as such we have used a conservative forecast approach in our own modelling.
Our Climate Transition Plan
In the past 12 months, we have identified and assessed a range of emissions reduction initiatives through development of a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC). The MACC serves as a tool to guide decision-making in the prioritisation and timing of actions required to achieve our targets.
Some of the initiatives identified and assessed include:
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Operational strategies to optimise wind turbine controls and minimise import of grid electricity (implemented in September 2023)
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Replacement of diesel site vehicles with electric vehicles
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Alternative electricity procurement for Perth office (e.g., GreenPower or solar on office building)
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Use of solar panels and storage technology on site
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Replacement of gasses with a high Global Warming Potential (a value specified for determining carbon dioxide equivalence) with low or zero emission alternatives (e.g., Sulphur Hexafluoride (commonly referred to as SF6) is used in high voltage equipment as a safety and stability measure to prevent overloading and short-circuiting. SF6 has a Global Warming Potential measure of 23,500.)
Our mitigation hierarchy is avoidance, reduction, substitution and offsetting. CWF will reserve the use of offsets only for residual emissions where abatement opportunities are unavailable or not practical.
In the coming year, we will focus on publishing a comprehensive Climate Transition Plan outlining the actions that will be undertaken to meet all targets as well as further details on our assurance and reporting approach.
Climate Governance
CWF is committed to ensuring its internal systems and processes result in effective climate oversight, accountability and transparency. We will regularly review our climate strategies, policies and targets to ensure they are effective and science based.
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ESG oversight sits with CWF’s Board of Directors, who have approved these targets and this statement.
As a reporting entity under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, CWF must disclose its scope 1 and 2 emissions, and these reports are independently assured from time to time. In addition, CWF’s broader approach to and progress against our net zero targets will be disclosed in Collgar Renewables’ annual Sustainability Report, for which we are committed to independent verification.
Click here to learn more about Collgar's approach to sustainability.
Accountability & Ethics
Collgar is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct, accountability and ethical behaviour in all its business activities, and promotes and supports an environment where employees and stakeholders have absolute trust and confidence that Collgar is behaving honestly and with integrity.
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Please click here to view Collgar Wind Farm's Whistleblower Policy and Modern Slavery Statement.