Biala Wind Farm
Biala Wind Farm is a 31 turbine wind farm located approximately 6km south of Grabben Gullen on Grabben Gullen Road, 8km east of Biala and 14.5km south west of Crookwell in the Southern Tablelands of NSW. The wind farm is 100% owned by BJCE Australia, which owns the nearby 73 turbine Gullen Range Wind Farm and 10MW Gullen Solar Farm.
Biala Wind Farm has an installed capacity of approximately 110MW producing enough electricity for around 46,000 typical homes on an average day of wind.
Construction started in August 2019 with the first clean power generated in 2020.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like further information, or if you would like to provide feedback or lodge a complaint about the proposed wind farm.
News
The latest wind farm news is below. You can view archive news here and download our newsletters here.
News item: 28/02/2023: BJCE Australia is a proud Red Ribbon sponsor of the 2023 Crookwell Show
Gullen Range Wind Farm was proud to be a Red Ribbon sponsor of this year’s Crookwell Show. In spite of the heat, our face painter brightened lots of faces with the proceeds donated to the local Rural Fire Service. We answered a lot of good questions about our projects, our renewable energy tours and Gullen Range Wind Farm’s Clean Energy Program, as well as general queries about renewable energy. We always enjoy the show and would like to say thank you to everybody who visited to our stand for a chat.
News item: 27/02/2023: 2023 Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm Tours announced
BJCE Australia is excited to offer tours of Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm. Come and see how it works. Get up close to a wind turbine and a solar array. Find out more about renewable energy. The next tour will be held on Tuesday, 18 April 2023 at 11am. To book your FREE ticket, please click here. To learn more about our tours click here.
News item: 09/02/2023: Biala Wind Farm back as a 2023 Major Sponsor of the Crookwell Green Devils
Biala Wind Farm is delighted to be a 2023 Major Sponsor of the Crookwell Green Devils senior league team. Fingers crossed the boys have the same success as last year and bring home the Premiership Shield.
News item: 22/12/2022: Merry Christmas from BJCE Australia
BJCE Australia wishes everybody a Merry Christmas. Thanks for your support throughout 2022. We’ve not been out in the community as much this year as we used to be before the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are looking forward to turning that around in 2023, with our wind farm tours and school visits planned to recommence.
Our office will be closing for the festive season from December 23rd until January 3rd.
Our 1800 lines and info email addresses will be monitored as normal, but we will only respond to urgent messages during this time. As a reminder, at any time of year, if there is an emergency relating to the wind farm, please call 000.
News item: 16/12/2022: December Community Newsletter
December 2022 Community Update is now available to read and download here.
News item: 13/12/2022: BJCE supports Meals on Wheels 2022 Christmas Hamper drive
BJCE is proud to contribute to Crookwell Meals on Wheels 2022 Christmas Hamper drive. 20 residents will receive a Christmas hamper filled with delicious goodies from Crookwell IGA. Meals on Wheels President, Greg Seaman said, “Crookwell Meals on Wheels is extremely thankful for the support received over the years from the Biala Wind Farm, our clients look forward to receiving their Christmas Hampers each year on Christmas Eve.”
News item: 07/12/2022: BJCE Australia sponsors 2022 Binda Community Carols
BJCE Australia is delighted to return as a sponsor of the 2022 Binda Community Carols. A not-for-profit event run by the Anglican Parish of Binda, the Carols will be held this Saturday, 10 November, in Binda. BJCE Australia wishes the residents of Binda and surrounds a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
News item: 07/11/2022: Quarterly community newsletters
To read and download BJCE’s quarterly community newsletters click here.
News item: 11/10/2022: Biala Wind Farm celebrates official completion of 31-turbine project
On Tuesday 11 October, Biala Wind Farm celebrated the official completion milestone of the 31-turbine project.
BJCE Australia acquired the wind farm in 2017 and construction commenced in August 2019. The project is now generating at full capacity, providing power to more than 46,000 homes on an average day of wind.
Weiwei Shi, Director, BJCE Australia said, “Today is a special day for the project. I would like to congratulate our site teams, Goldwind Australia, CATCON, Consolidated Power Projects and the local community on the completion of Biala Wind Farm.”
“With the many challenges we faced through COVID-19, it is great to see this project finished. It reflects the hard work and dedication of everyone involved.”
Read more here.
Upper Lachlan Shire Council advises that the Biala Wind Farm Community Fund Funding Round opened for applications on Monday 29 August 2022 and will close at 5.00pm on Friday 14 October 2022.
The Biala Wind Farm Community Fund aims to support initiatives that benefit the local community through projects and initiatives proposed by members of the community through registered or incorporated not for profit organisations that contribute to neighbouring communities within 5kms of the wind farm or, if no suitable community purpose is available with 5kms, then within 20km of a wind turbine on the Biala Wind Farm.
The guidelines and application form are available on the home page of Council’s website: www.upperlachlan.nsw.gov.au/community/grants.
Applications may be submitted by post to: PO Box 42, GUNNING NSW 2581 or emailed to [email protected](link sends e-mail).
News item: 06/05/2022: May 2022 Community Newsletter
May 2022 Community Update is now available to read and download here.
News item: 30/3/2022: Commissioning update
The wind farm has now been approved to operate with all 31 turbines in service while testing continues.
The turbines are required to generate at close to full capacity for testing purposes, so the length of the testing period is dependent on the wind conditions.
Detailed reports will be submitted to the Australian Energy Market Operator and Transgrid for review and approval before the commissioning process is complete.
News item: 29/3/2022: Commissioning progress
The wind farm has now passed the latest stage of testing and is permitted to generate electricity with 25 turbines operational.
Depending on wind conditions, the next round of testing, with all 31 turbines in service, is expected to be conducted this week.
The project will not be fully operational until the Australian Energy Market Operator and Transgrid have reviewed reports from the test periods and confirmed the turbines are operating in line with expectations.
News Item: 04/03/2022: March Quarterly Community Newsletter
March 2022 Quarterly Community Update now available to read and download here.
News Item: 24/12/2021: December Quarterly Community Newsletter
December 2021 Quarterly Community Update now available to read and download here.
News item: 24/12/2021: Christmas contact details
Everyone at Biala Wind Farm would like to wish you a safe, merry Christmas and a happy new year. During the festive period, our office will be closed from 24 December 2021 to 3 January 2022 inclusive. You can still contact us but we will respond to your emails after we return on 4 January 2021. If you need more immediate assistance, please phone our toll-free number on 1800 370 045 (leave a message and we’ll call you back). If there is an emergency, please dial 000.
News item: 22/11/2021: Commissioning progress continues
The latest commissioning milestone has now been achieved and the wind farm is permitted to operate 19 turbines at the same time.
The next step, once the Australian Energy Market Operator is satisfied with testing at this stage, will be to move to 25 turbines generating power simultaneously.
News item: 18/11/2021: Wind farm commissioning progress
Permission has been granted for Biala Wind Farm to move to the next stage of testing as part of the commissioning process.
This means that 15 turbines can now operate at the same time.
Once the Australian Energy Market Operator gives the go ahead, the next stage will be to move to 19 turbines in operation.
News item: 11/10/2021: October Quarterly Community Newsletter
October 2021 Quarterly Community Update now available to read and download here.
News item: 10/08/2021: Community Fund update
Applications closed yesterday for the wind farm Community Fund’s first round of grants.
Priority will be given to projects suggested by community groups within 5km of the Biala turbines. We look forward to seeing the first submissions.
News item: 30/07/2021: CCC meeting postponed
The CCC meeting scheduled for 19 August 2021 has been postponed. For more information about the CCC meetings click here.
News item:27/7/2021: COVID-19 update
Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Sydney we have limited access to our mailbox to retrieve posted items.
If you have TV Reception or Landscape Program forms to send, please email us at [email protected]
You can also call us on 1800 370045. We hope to be back in the office soon.
News item: 16/7/2021: Community Fund open for applications
More than $92,000 is available for local groups in the first round of grants from the Biala Wind Farm Community Fund. Projects located within 5km of the wind farm will be given priority.
Guidelines, including a map showing the 5km radius, and application forms are available from Upper Lachlan Shire Council. The closing date for applications is Monday 9 August.
News item: 07/07/2021: July 2021 Community Newsletter
July 2021 Community Update now available to read and download here.
News item: 22/6/2021: Routine maintenance at substation
Turbine blades won’t be spinning for most of Friday (25 June). This is due to routine maintenance at the high voltage substation. We expect normal service to resume from about 4pm.
News item: 16/6/2021: Wind farm goes back to school
Upper Lachlan students found out more about career opportunities in the fast-growing renewable energy sector today.
BJCE Australia’s Community Engagement Officer Dr Isabel Nelson dropped into Crookwell High School as part of the STEM Industry School Partnership Program.
Isabel talked about the wide range of potential careers on offer, explained the technology that drives the renewables industry and how STEM skills learned in the classroom are linked to real world uses, such as developing and operating clean power generators.
Crookwell High School students were joined by youngsters from Binda, Bigga, Laggan and Crookwell Public Schools and also showcased their problem-solving skills by designing and building catapults and dragsters using only material provided. Isabel reported that she was extremely impressed with the creative thinking on display.
BJCE Australia is proud to have been an Industry Partner for the SISP program since it started in 2018. We were thrilled to be able to return to the classroom and are looking forward to our next visit.
News item: 04/06/2021: Aviation hazards lights have been switched off
Following consultation with NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and other relevant authorities, the Biala Wind Farm aviation hazard lighting has been turned off today.
News item: 28/05/2021: Next CCC meeting date announced
The next CCC meeting will be held on Thursday, 19th August 2021 from 5.30pm at the Grabben Gullen Hall. For more information click here.
News item: 18/5/2021: Planned outage at the wind farm
Turbine blades will not be spinning at the wind farm on Wednesday 19 May. That’s because routine maintenance at the high voltage substation will be underway. Everything should be back to normal by Thursday and we don’t expect our neighbours to be affected.
News item: 21/04/2021: April 2021 Community Newsletter
April 2021 Community Update now available to read and download here.
News item: 19/04/2021: BJCE Australia kicks off a new season with Crookwell Junior Green Devils
BJCE’s Gullen Range Wind Farm is delighted to be a long-term supporter of the Crookwell Junior Green Devils. Under a partnership which commenced in 2019, Gullen Range Wind Farm is one of the major sponsors of Crookwell Junior Green Devils Rugby League Club. In 2020, the rugby league season was suspended due to COVID-19. Training for the 2021 season is now underway. BJCE wishes the Junior Green Devils all the best for their games, which will hopefully deliver a 2021 season win for Crookwell. The 2021 season will start later this month.
News item: 6/04/2021: Bowled over by another impressive Rose Tournament.
Every year the Rose Tournament competition showcases some of the best bowlers in the State and 2021 was no exception. Gullen Range Wind Farm was proud to be a major sponsor of the February tournament at the Goulburn Railway Bowling Club for the fifth consecutive year. Simon Zhao from Gullen Range was honoured to attend the award ceremony and present a number of trophies in both men and women events. The winners of the women’s event were from Bomaderry, the runners up and third placegetters were both teams from Merrylands. The winners in the men’s event was a combined team from Goulburn and Bargo and the runners up, and third placegetters were teams from Sydney. Well done to all the winners! BJCE Australia’s Gullen Range Wind Farm congratulates Goulburn Railway Bowling Club for delivering a very successful event.
News item: 25/03/2021: February/March 2021 Community Newsletter
February/March 2021 Community Update now available to read and download here.
News item: 24/03/2021: Update on the Biala Wind Farm Community Enhancement Fund
Upper Lachlan Shire Council (ULSC) has begun the process of setting up the Biala Wind Farm Community Fund, which will provide approximately $92,300 per year towards community projects. Council has selected two community members to sit on the guiding committee, alongside council representatives and one representative from Biala Wind Farm. The next steps are for the committee to meet and agree on a charter. Depending on the outcome of the first meeting of the committee, Biala Wind Farm expects the fund will open for applications later this year. We’ll keep you up to date in future newsletters and on our website.
News item: 22/02/2021: Artrageously good! Gunning all set for 2021 Festival
BJCE Australia’s Biala and Gullen Range Wind Farms are delighted to be a Gold sponsor of the 2021 community-led Gunning Arts Festival. This year, the ‘rejuvenation’-themed Festival will feature a strong line-up of both online and face-to-face events, including play and story readings, music performances, arts/craft workshops, competitions, an art exhibition and much more. Leading up to the main 2-day event in October, you’ll also be treated to smaller events that will be held throughout the year. For further information, please visit the 2021 Gunning Arts Festival website here.
Don’t forget that you can already contribute to The Festival showcase FlashWrite project! You are welcome to submit a story up to 1500 words that embodies local life experiences of the Southern Tablelands. FlashWrite is open to all ages and the closing date has been extended to 5pm on Friday, 30th July. For more details, please visit the FlashWrite Project page by clicking here. The FlashWrite Project is sponsored by BJCE Australia and supported by an Upper Lachlan Cultural Funding Program grant. The Upper Lachlan Cultural Funding Program is funded by the Upper Lachlan Shire Council.
News item: 16/02/2021: January 2021 Community Newsletter
News item: 10/02/2021: Next CCC meeting date announced
News item: 28/01/2021: Biala Rural Fire Service’s Christmas celebrations supported by BJCE Australia