Wind power to offset Binningup power

The energy requirements of the Binningup desalination plant are being further offset by renewable sources after the official opening of a 22-turbine wind farm near Geraldton on Friday.

The $200 million Mumbida Wind Farm produces 55 megawatts of power, enough to supply 40,000 average households.

The entire output of the farm has been bought by the Water Corporation and will be used to power the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant, which opened in Binningup in 2011 and reached full capacity in January.

The output of the nearby 10 megawatt Greenough River Solar Farm — the first commercial-scale solar farm in Australia — was also bought by the Water Corporation to offset energy requirements at Binningup.