The Queensland Government has approved a State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) application for the Tarong West Wind Farm.
Stanwell Corporation is committed to building the 436.5MW wind farm in South Burnett, which is set to be the largest publicly owned wind farm in Australia.
The project is backed by $776.1 million from the Queensland Government’s Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund, and is expected to create around 200 construction jobs and 15 ongoing operational jobs.
The Queensland Government said that once complete, the Tarong West Wind farm will help meet the State Government’s commitment to producing 70 per cent renewable energy by 2032, and 80 per cent by 2035.
Publicly owned Stanwell is working with global renewable energy developer RES to build the proposed 436.5MW wind farm, which is located 30km south-west of Kingaroy.
The project will feature 97 wind turbines and will produce enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 230,000 homes.
The SARA assessment considered an accommodation strategy for workers to ensure that housing supply in the region will not be adversely affected.
SARA has worked closely with the Department of Resources to ensure that the development helps protect important areas of ecological significance including protecting up to 13.47ha of koala habitat.
Conditions have been imposed for offsetting impacts for up to 5.4ha of Koala habitat, in addition to requirements to rehabilitate areas cleared during construction to the greatest extent possible.
Construction is expected to commence from 2025.
Queensland Minister for Energy and Clean Economy Jobs, Mick de Brenni, said that this project is about more than generating clean energy, it’s about job security for the local workforce.
“Building this major energy infrastructure creates about 200 construction jobs, delivers a financial boost to the region and long-term operations and maintenance roles,” Mr de Brenni said.
Stanwell CEO, Michael O’Rourke, said “The Tarong West Wind Farm is a critical part of not only Stanwell’s plan to decarbonise our existing portfolio, but it’s critical to Queensland reaching its renewable energy targets.”
“This development approval brings us one step closer to our aim of having 9–10GW of large-scale wind and solar capacity by 2035 and we are continuing to work with RES through the approval processes so we can bring this project to life.
“The 436.5MW wind farm will not only provide enough clean energy into the network to power the equivalent of 230,000 homes, it will also bring significant regional benefits to the community and also provide future career opportunities for our people.”
Featured image: AustralianCamera/shutterstock.com
