Collector Wind Farm officially opens

The CEFC congratulates RATCH-Australia on the official opening of the Collector Wind Farm. The CEFC became the sole debt financier to the project in 2019, with our $174.6 million senior debt facility repaid in 2022. Find out more about how we’re working as a renewable energy project accelerator and supporting the development of wind energy.

It’s great to see the Collector Wind Farm open and the expansion of RATCH Australia’s renewable energy portfolio. The CEFC has been a long-term investor in the wind sector and this is another excellent example of the CEFC ‘bridge to contracting’ finance strategy, which has supported the accelerated project delivery, enabling RATCH Australia to commence construction prior to securing long term offtake agreements. We’re proud to be working with international renewable developers to invest and expand Australian renewable generation to support the transition to net zero.

Ian Learmonth

CEO, CEFC

RATCH-Australia media release

29 November 2022

RATCH-Australia officially opens one of NSW's newest wind farms

Today RATCH-Australia officially opened one of the newest wind farms in New South Wales, Collector Wind Farm. It was a great opportunity to celebrate a project that was over 10 years in the making and would not have happened without the support of project partners including the project’s first financier, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Lumea, Vestas, the projects offtakers Iberdrola and ALDI Supermarkets, and of course the project’s hosting landowners.

Collector Wind Farm was officially opened by RATCH-Australia CEO, Polagorn Kheosiplard with the help of Clean Energy Finance Corporation CEO, Ian Learmonth and Thai Deputy Ambassador, Sira Swangsilpa.

RATCH-Australia’s CEO, Polagorn Kheosiplard highlights the importance of this project “This new wind farm is an important step in Australia’s journey to decarbonisation and we are very proud to be able to produce clean, cheap energy for the market.”

Collector Wind Farm is the largest wind farm that RATCH-Australia has built in Australia. The wind farm’s 54 turbines produce 528GWh each year which is enough to power 80,000 average NSW homes.

This amount of clean green energy is enough to save approximately 320,000 tonnes of CO₂-e emissions each year  which is the equivalent of taking 120,000 cars off the road.

RATCH-Australia’s CEO, Polagorn Kheosiplard explains how this project contributes to the Collector region. “We are very pleased to have supported the local region with contracts and jobs, employing more than 150 people throughout construction. It is now managed by up to 10 full time staff, providing clean energy jobs in the region.

We are happy that we have been able to share benefits with the Collector community since we started operating as well. In the last two years we have distributed almost half a million dollars to community organisations in Collector and surrounds. It is nice to see these grants being put to good use as we can see the Collector Memorial Hall, Uniting Church and Oval making improvements to their facilities, for example.

Polagorn Kheosiplard

CEO, RATCH-Australia

This project would not have been possible without RATCH’s Australia partners and customers. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) made this project possible with their early support for the wind farm as its first lender.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said: “It’s great to see the Collector Wind Farm open and the expansion of RATCH Australia’s renewable energy portfolio. The CEFC has been a long-term investor in the wind sector and this is another excellent example of the CEFC ‘bridge to contracting’ finance strategy, which has supported the accelerated project delivery, enabling RATCH Australia to commence construction prior to securing long term offtake agreements. We’re proud to be working with international renewable developers to invest and expand Australian renewable generation to support the transition to net zero.”  

Another key player in the Collector Wind Farm is the customers that have committed to offtake agreements including Iberdrola and ALDI Supermarkets.

Daniel Baker, Director, Corporate Responsibility, ALDI Australia said “Thanks to the contribution of our Power Purchase Agreements with RATCH-Australia’s new Collector Wind Farm, ALDI became the first supermarket in Australia to have all stores, warehouses and offices powered using only renewable electricity sources, reducing CO₂ emissions by 85 per cent.  

“It is through partnerships like this one with RATCH-Australia, that we were able to achieve our commitment six months ahead of schedule in 2021. We absolutely congratulate everyone at RATCH-Australia on their investment in clean energy infrastructure.

Collector Wind Farm is another strong step forward in infrastructure that will help Australia reach its target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, an ambition that ALDI absolutely endorses.

Daniel Baker

Director, Corporate Responsibility, ALDI Australia

Ross Rolfe, AO, Executive Chairman, Iberdrola Australia added “Iberdrola Australia has worked with RATCH across a number of projects. Collector represents another case of project developers working closely with Iberdrola Australia to provide Australian customers with competitively prices green electricity. This collaborative approach helps accelerate the renewable transition while providing customers with firm product offerings for 100 per cent green energy”.

It is great to see that all of these organisations have contributed to creating such a successful wind farm that will be supplying cheap, clean energy for the Australian energy market for many years to come.