Over 200,000m2 of mastaGRID™ Delivered to Victorian Renewable Energy Project

Jaybro supplied 210,000 square metres of mastaGRID to Ace Contractors for the Moorabool Wind Farm infrastructure works.

The Moorabool wind farm is set to become one of Australia’s largest wind energy projects. The project will ultimately result in up to 1 million megawatt hours of renewable electricity being generated. This is enough energy to power the equivalent of 200,000 average homes every year.

The project is valued at $370 million and is spearheaded by Goldwind Australia as the principal engineering, procurement and construction provider. Goldwind has appointed Zenviron as the balance of plant contractor.

Early works began in early 2018 when the green light was given to construct 107 wind turbines each soaring 170 metres high. The project is divided into North and South precincts.

Stage 1A and 1B of the North section are well underway. These stages encompass upgrades to public roads and the installation of 50 turbines and associated infrastructure. Jaybro’s customer, Ace Contractors, has been contracted by Zenviron to undertake infrastructure works at the Ballan site in regional Victoria.

Ace Contractors have been engaged to construct 26 kilometres of access track for the 50 wind turbines. Additionally, workers will excavate and prepare for the wind turbine installation. By constructing vital compounds and laydowns, Ace Contractors will help streamline the placing, lifting and installation of the turbine components. These components include blades, rotors and also nacelles (housings for the generators) which will begin arriving on site in early 2019.

Construction of the Moorabool North project is nearing completion, with the continuation of access track construction ongoing.

The Challenges

Located just south of Ballan and not far from the regional hub of Ballarat, the area is predominantly farmland. The project is environmentally delicate, and designated construction zones were demarcated to keep disruption of the surrounding area to a minimum. Ace Contractors needed to prepare a substantial ground area within a sensitive environmental footprint.

Additionally, due to the massive weight of the turbine components, pavement reinforcement & stabilisation was a crucial factor. Ace Contractors specified a geogrid that increased load capacity for the access roads to 22-tonne axle loading.

Jaybro’s Solution

Jaybro supplied over 200,000 square metres of GEOmasta mastaGRID™ 30/30 for the wind farm project.

This engineered geo grid is ideal for pavement stabilisation and reinforcement applications. The robust polypropylene grid is designed to increase load capacity in road & rail construction. For this reason, it was an ideal choice for the access road construction in this project.

Different mastaGRID™ variations are available for a wide range of applications and are available from Jaybro along with the complete GEOmasta™ range.

This project is due for completion in 2019.

 Key Data

• Product: mastaGRID Poly30/30
• Length supplied: Over 210,000 square metres (1000+ rolls)
• Install length: 10kms
• Project: Moorabool Wind Farm
• Location: Ballan, Victoria
• Time Period: December 2018