Community consultation is now open on the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed $500 million Cooper’s Gap wind farm near Kingaroy, Queensland.
Queensland Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Dr Anthony Lynham, said comment had opened on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project.
“Consultation is a very important part of the EIS process and I encourage people to take a look at the EIS and have their say.
“AGL Energy Limited proposes to build and operate a wind farm that could potentially supply power to an estimated 236,000 households from its installed capacity of up to 460MW and up to 115 wind turbines.
“The project could create up to 350 construction jobs and ongoing employment for up to 20 people in the region,” Dr Lynham said.
Queensland Energy Minister, Mark Bailey, said the Coopers Gap wind farm consultation followed confirmation of ARENA support for six large-scale solar farms and an Ergon power purchase agreement for the 170MW Mount Emerald wind farm in far north Queensland.
“Combined, these projects would support more than 1000 construction jobs in large-scale renewables,” Mr Bailey said.
“We promised to establish a large-scale renewable energy industry in Queensland, to act on climate change while creating new jobs and diversifying our economy, and we are doing just that.”
The Coordinator-General has reviewed the draft EIS and has determined that it is satisfactory to release for comment.
The public are now invited to make a submission on whether the draft EIS adequately address the project’s terms of reference, including the project’s potential environmental impacts and the effectiveness of measures the proponent proposes to manage those impacts.
The draft EIS will be available for viewing at:
- Bell Library, Bell Bunya Community Centre, 71 Maxwell Street, Bell
- Blackbutt Library, 69 Hart Street, Blackbutt
- Chinchilla Library, 80-86 Heeney Street, Chinchilla
- Dalby Library, 107 Drayton Street, Dalby
- Jandowae Library, 22 George Street, Jandowae
- Kingaroy Library,41 Glendon Street, Kingaroy
- Nanango Library, 48 Drayton Street, Nanango
- Proston Library, 34 Blake Street, Proston
- State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, Cultural Centre, South Bank, Brisbane
- Wondai Library, 78 Mackenzie Street, Wondai.
The project was declared a co-ordinated project in June 2016.
Terms of reference are available online and in local libraries. For more information visit here.
Public comment closes on November 7.
