Big wind in Australia

The Australian subsidiary of Germany's 

and

has signed a joint framework agreement to develop, finance and construct

's biggest wind farm.

The project is currently being planned. Initial applications will be made in the approval procedure as early as next year.

The wind installations will be built near Silverton, western New South Wales. Between 400 and 500 wind turbines with a peak capacity of 1,000MW have the potential to supply 4.5 per cent of the annual energy needs of New South Wales with electricity. This is said to correspond to the power consumption of more than 400,000 households per year.

The Australian government recently signed the Kyoto protocol and is committed to generate 20 per cent of its electrical power from renewable energies by 2020.