Boco Rock Wind Farm manager Adrian Oakey says the project remains on schedule, with another milestone achieved at the Nimmitabel site this week.
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Speaking to the Magnet at the Port of Eden navy multipurpose wharf as blades were unloaded on Tuesday, Mr Oakey said that weather-permitting, the first rotor would be going up on Wednesday.
Ten base- and mid-tower sections have already been erected, along with one top-tower section.
“It’s all panned out pretty much how we thought it was going to go,” Mr Oakey, who has worked on the project since 2008, said.
“The biggest challenge was getting the whole thing funded, and there were moments coming up to financial close where we did wander, but we persevered and made the project happen.
“What we’re seeing now is a result of a lot of great teamwork and some great efforts from a lot of people.
“The arrangement to use this port was an effort by the previous federal MP, Mike Kelly, Downer GE with all the construction and engineering, the forestry guys who helped us arrange smooth transport up Imlay Road, and ourselves at CWP Renewables.”
Transport is expected to continue for around another four-and-a-half months, with four or five trucks ferrying components on local roads each day.
Mr Oakey said two trucks carrying blades leave the port early each morning, around 20 minutes apart.
They are then followed by either two trucks, carrying base- and mid-tower sections, or three trucks with a top-tower section, nacelle and hub.
“They alternate from day-to-day, and usually leave the port about mid-morning, reaching Bombala just after lunch,” he said.
“They park there overnight and leave early the next morning, arriving on-site around 8.30 or 9am.
“Once those are offloaded on-site and the blades arrive around lunchtime, all the empty trucks start returning to Bombala in the afternoon.”
Mr Oakey said that after years of hard work, the benefits for the region are now becoming clearer for people to see.
“It’s been really exciting, seeing the shipments arrive and construction happening on-site,” he said.
“The long-term operation of the wind farm will create about 12 permanent jobs on-site, and those people will have to live locally and buy locally; it just adds to the infrastructure in the area that people have opportunities to work on.
“On a wider scale, I fundamentally believe that renewable energy is the way to go, and whether you believe in climate change or not, it offers us a way to generate electricity without being reliant on fossil fuels.”
