The South Burnett Regional Council area in Queensland is set to receive a renewables boost, with the Queensland Government announcing it has approved a new $128 million wind farm for the area.
Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, Cameron Dick, said the wind farm is expected to be operational by 2020.
“The Queensland Government is committed to supporting investment in regional Queensland and renewable energy projects,” Mr Dick said.
“During construction, 100 new jobs will be created and there will be a further five ongoing jobs once the wind farm is operational.
“It’s a huge jobs boost for the area and will help us achieve our renewable energy target.”
Mr Dick said, once complete, the 64MW wind farm would be the second one in operation in the area, with Coopers Gap initially approved in 2017.
“Wind farms don’t just provide an economic boost for the state, the environmental benefits are equally important,” Mr Dick said.
“As more people call Queensland home, we need to continue to support sustainable ways to provide power to existing and new houses and businesses.
“This project will deliver 16 new turbines and, coupled with the 123 turbines in nearby Coopers Gap, that’s nearly 140 turbines delivering power to the region.”
Minister for Energy, Dr Anthony Lynham, said this project added to the state’s numerous renewable projects, placing further downward pressure on electricity prices and taking the state closer to its renewables target of 50 per cent by 2030.
“Queensland’s renewable revolution is full steam ahead, and we continue to show the way for the rest of the nation,” Dr Lynham said.
“This project is one part of over $1.6 billion worth of renewable energy investment underway or recently operating in the Darling Downs and South West regions, creating more than 1,000 jobs in construction and 860MW of renewable generation capacity.”
This includes Coopers Gap Wind Farm, 250km north-west of Brisbane between Dalby and Kingaroy, which has a total capacity of 453MW. It is the largest wind farm by capacity in Australia with enough energy to power 264,000 homes.
A spokesperson for Australia Energy Windarm said construction would commence as early as March 2020.
“Once constructed, the wind farm is expected to generate enough energy to power the equivalent of around 35,000 homes and will reduce carbon dioxide output by an estimated 150,000 tonnes each year,” the spokesperson said.
“Wind farm technology has significantly advanced during recent years, and the 16 turbines on site will each produce between 4-5.5MW of energy.
“Before operations commence, we will be upgrading local roads leading to the site and delivering the associated infrastructure such as a substation.”
