The latest stage in the massive $2 billion wind farm investment program in Tasmania is taking to the roads of Burnie.
During the next week, 96 sections of wind turbine towers, each weighing almost 150 tonnes, will make their short initial trip from Burnie Port to a holding facility behind Bunnings Warehouse before they move on to their final destination, the Granville Harbour Wind Farm.
The 52 metre-long, 6.1 metre-high wind turbine components will be escorted by State Growth Transport Safety Officers along Port Road, Bollard Drive, Bass Highway and Marine Terrace every half hour between 7:00pm and 7:00am daily. They will be some of the largest road-based movements ever seen in Tasmania.
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The Tasmanian Minster for Energy Guy Barnett’s office says this is another milestone in delivering its Tasmania First energy policy to make the state fully renewable and have the lowest regulated power prices by 2022.
Granville Harbour alone is being developed with an investment of $280 million and is supporting some 200 jobs during construction with 10 more to continue on an ongoing basis once operational.
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With Granville Harbour and Cattle Hill under construction, and Robbins Island and Jim’s Plain in the pipeline, more than 350 construction jobs have already been injected into regional communities with more than 400 construction jobs and 95 ongoing roles on the table. This will be a huge economic boost for the West Coast and North West.
The development of new wind farms in Tasmania also represents another step in its Battery of the Nation pumped hydro plans that will drive billions in investment and create thousands of jobs in Tasmania.
