Queensland’s publicly owned generator CleanCo will build a new wind farm near Warwick as part of a precinct that will create 400 jobs and supply up to nearly 700,000 homes.
Featuring 18 turbines, CleanCo’s 100MW wind farm will be part of the 1026-megawatt MacIntyre Wind Farm Precinct on the Southern Downs, which is expected to be progressively connected to the statewide energy grid from 2022.
Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad early works are expected to start later this year, with construction scheduled to run from mid-2021 to 2024.
“This is what CleanCo is all about – building, owning and operating a wind farm of 18 turbines with the capacity to generate up to 100 megawatts of new renewable energy,” the Deputy Premier said.
“On behalf of Queenslanders, CleanCo will also buy another 400 megawatts of new renewable energy from ACCIONA.
“CleanCo’s involvement in the MacIntyre Precinct has nearly doubled the size and capacity of the wind farm, with Queenslanders set to benefit from the addition of more than one gigawatt of new renewable energy to our electricity network—the equivalent to powering almost 700,000 homes.”
Minister for Energy Dr Anthony Lynham said the MacIntyre Precinct will have ‘far reaching and long lasting social and economic benefits locally’.
“The local spend on the Downs is forecast to be more than $500 million during construction,” Dr Lynham continued.
“That’s jobs and business flowing into the south west from later this year when early works start.”
ACCIONA Australia Energy Managing Director Brett Wickham said the company was looking forward to
working with CleanCo to deliver one of the largest onshore wind farms in the southern hemisphere.
“In addition to generating up to 400 jobs over its lifetime, a Community Enhancement Program will be established to deliver added value to the local community,” Mr Wickham said.
“The project is scheduled to begin construction in mid-2021, with a gradual start-up in phases to ensure connection to the grid with full technical guarantees for the state’s electricity system. The entire MacIntyre complex will be operational in 2024.”
