Construction works on the Warradarge wind farm’s $400-million stage-two expansion started in July this year, after developer Bright Energy Investment’s board of directors approved the project late last year.
The expanded wind farm is expected to be operational in 2027 with a total capacity of 283 megawatts, enabled by 30 new turbines and enough to power 164,000 Western Australian households for a year.
Warradarge, about 260 kilometres north of Perth in the Mid West region’s Shire of Carnamah, is considered one of the best-performing renewable energy projects in Australia, achieving a capacity factor of nearly 50 per cent from an abundant wind resource.
Along with Warradarge, Bright Energy owns the Albany Grasmere Wind Farm and the Greenough River Solar Farm near Geraldton.
Bright Energy previously completed the second stage expansion of the Greenough River project, along with refurbishment works to extend the lifespan of the Grasmere facility in Albany.
The company was founded in 2018 as a joint venture between the Western Australian government-owned utility Synergy, Cbus Super, and the infrastructure fund CVC DIF. Earlier this year, Cbus and CVC sold their 80.1 per cent stake to the renewables company Potentia Energy.
Potentia, owned by a joint venture between Italian renewables developer Enel Green Power and Japanese energy company INPEX, was established in December last year and has since acquired 1.2 gigawatts of renewable assets across Australia.
This includes about 700 megawatts of operational wind and solar assets, including the Bungala, Girgarre and Cohuna solar farms and the Flat Rock wind farm in WA, and more than 430 megawatts of late-stage projects.
Speaking shortly after Potentia’s acquisition of its Bright Energy stake was finalised, Potentia Chief Executive Officer Werther Esposito said the deal affirmed the company’s ambitious growth strategy in Australia, which spanned diverse geographies, technologies, and markets.
Esposito said: “I have experience in different markets, in different continents over the last 15 years, and Australia is the place to be – there is a strong appetite from international investors in Australia.”
He stated that achieving Australia’s target of 82 per cent renewables by the end of the decade would require an investment of $80 billion.
Esposito continued: “We are committed to continuing to drive the energy transition across Australia.
“Our new Western Australian assets position us to work alongside Synergy in supporting their state’s energy transition and decarbonisation ambitions.”
Danish company Vestas Wind Systems was selected to deliver, install, and commission its V136 3.6-megawatt turbines for the expansion, using the same equipment as in phase one.
Vestas – which designs, manufactures, installs and services wind turbines worldwide – will also continue as the Operations and Maintenance contractor for plant operations.
It uses a pool workforce that includes apprentices to maintain three different wind farms in the area, with an average of six local technicians currently utilised at Warradarge at any given time.
Vestas was also awarded the contract to build Synergy’s King’s Rock wind farm in Western Australia, which is scheduled to be operational by 2027.
Tom Frood, General Manager at Bright Energy, said the Mid West region offered abundant wind resources and the expansion would allow for even more sustainable energy to be harnessed for use in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
He said: “We are thrilled to again partner with Vestas to deliver Warradarge wind farm stage two – the completion of Warradarge will continue to accelerate the country’s clean energy ambitions.”
On-site at the Warradarge Wind Farm Stage 2 (left to right) Potentia Energy COO Gabriele Mallarini, Minister for Energy Hon. Amber-Jade Sanderson, BEI GM Tom Frood, and Synergy CEO Kurt Baker.
The WA government has committed $30 million towards the cost of the expansion, part of the $5.7 billion it has invested in the state’s clean energy industry since 2017.
WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby said the stategovernment’s vision for WA’s energy future was clear.
Whitby said: “We want households and businesses to access clean, reliable and affordable energy, which can be provided by a mix of rooftop solar and onshore wind, backed by large-scale battery storage and supported by gas as required.
“With this expansion of Warradarge wind farm, Western Australians can rest assured knowing the future of our state’s energy system is secure.”
Stage one of Warradarge began construction in January 2020 and was completed in October of that year.
The turbines are among the largest in WA, with a tip height of 152 metres and blades that are 67 metres long.
The initial 51 turbines were built on foundations consisting of 480 cubic metres of concrete, poured from an onsite batch plant. The original construction also involved 55 kilometres of new gravel roads around the 3,800-hectare site, as well as 117 kilometres of underground 33-kilovolt electrical cabling.
A 10-kilometre transmission line from the wind farm’s substation to the existing 330-kilovolt transmission line near Eneabba on the SWIS was constructed by Western Power and includes a new terminal station at Eneabba.
The expansion of the Warradarge project comes as the wind energy sector in Australia experiences a resurgence, positioning itself for significant growth. Wind power supplied 32,519 gigawatt-hours of energy in 2024, according to the Global Wind Energy Council,
representing 33.5 per cent of Australia’s renewable power generation and 13.4 per cent of total power generation.
After slowing in 2023, investment commitments rebounded to $5.9 billion for eight new onshore wind projects totalling 2.2 gigawatts of new generation capacity.
The renewed investor interest is attributed to streamlined planning and environmental assessment processes, as well as reduced commercial risk through the expanded Capacity Investment Scheme.
Recent data from Rystad Energy showed that in January 2025, all Australian utility solar and wind assets generated 4,805 gigawatt-hours, up 12 per cent from one year prior.
Total renewable energy generation on the main grid reached 44 per cent in January, marking the first time it exceeded 40 per cent for that month.
