A BUNBURY company in Southwest Australia is to begin manufacturing wind energy componentry.
The plan is to manufacture transition flanges for wind turbines which connect the turbine tower to the foundation and are currently manufactured overseas.
The company, RCR Advanced Technologies, is in talks with turbine manufacturers to build the flanges in WA, to reduce shipping logistics and deliver supply chain reliability.
RCR is receiving more than $2 million to partner with the state government to establish a pilot program that will modernise and expand its workshop capability, purchase state-of-the-art machinery and upgrade quality control processes to meet the standards of large wind energy developers.
The move was welcomed by Southern Ports CEO Keith Wilks.
“While it’s too early to tell exactly what impact this will have on our Port of Bunbury, we do know the Port will have an important role to play in supporting these new opportunities that will be generated from the energy, manufacturing and technology industries planned for the South West. We’ll be doing everything we can to help unlock the region’s economic potential,” Mr Wilks said.
RCR will also use the investments to upskill its workforce to be capable of undertaking future refurbishment of wind turbine components such as gearboxes and drive shafts.
A state government media release announcing the project said leveraging this co-investment and its extensive manufacturing expertise in materials handling equipment for the resources sector, RCR will strengthen its collaboration with global original equipment manufacturers, such as Vestas, and engage with other major renewable energy project developers.
RCR is the second recipient under the WA state government’s $8 million Wind Energy Manufacturing Co-Investment Program
The project is expected to create up to 48 jobs and generate $36 million in revenue over the next five years.
“The $5.3 million project is set to strengthen Western Australia's capability to produce wind energy componentry locally and support the development of clean energy projects, facilitating Western Australia's broader energy transition,” the release said.
Western Australia has multiple large wind farms scheduled for development in the coming decades, several being above one gigawatt in scale.