THE last of 140 wind turbines has been switched on at the Macarthur wind farm signalling the final stage of the $1 billion energy project.
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The towers which dominate the countryside at 83 metres high will undergo a month of testing before keys to the gates are handed over to partnering operators AGL and Meridian Energy.
The first blades began spinning in October, pumping energy into the grid.
Once fully operational, it is expected to produce enough electricity to power 220,000 homes a year.
Developer Vestas Asia Pacific spokesman Tony White said no issues had been highlighted with any of the towers so far.
“They’re at the testing phase now,” Mr White said. “Even during the testing the power goes in to the grid.”
More than 2000 people worked about 1.5 million hours during construction of the sites.
Macarthur grazier Tom Robertson — who has a number of turbines on his property — said he was pleased to no longer hear trucks dragging massive components to the site.
“For 10 years we have been looking at wind farms and encouraging them to look inland,” Mr Robertson said. “It’s all finished and they’ve done all the land restoration.” Lingering issues over the condition of roads in the region remain between Moyne Shire and AGL.
The council is still mulling over what action it can take against the energy giant over claims it did not meet its requirements to repair roads.