A burgeoning renewable vitality firm is hoping to increase its inexperienced energy footprint in Queensland with a brand new $800m wind farm.
Renewable Energy Partners, which boasts a sweep of wind, photo voltaic and pumped hydro developments throughout the state, desires to implant an extra 48 wind generators in a 300MW farm about 230km west of Brisbane.
If accepted, the farm may energy as much as 180,000 houses, the corporate states, and assist the state authorities obtain its formidable goal to hit 70 per cent renewable energy technology by 2032.
The Merrawindi wind farm can be situated adjoining to the coal-fired Millmerran energy plant close to Toowoomba and the corporate mentioned the positioning was chosen for its “excellent wind resource, proximity to Powerlink’s high-voltage transmission network, strong local community support and the availability of a local, highly skilled workforce”.
“We think it’s a great project and we just now have to go through the usual development steps,” REP chief govt Luke McDonald instructed NCA NewsWire on Thursday.
![Renewable Energy Partners chief executive Luke McDonald said the project ‘ticks all the boxes’. Contributed](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-14194091/19f7c16476646746d8eb6a3640b4ff618a2cd67d.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
“It’s got good grid, good wind resources.
“In our view, it ticks all the boxes of the aspects you’re looking for in developing a project through to construction.”
The firm has begun inner environmental assessments however has not submitted any purposes to the state or federal governments.
Mr McDonald mentioned he anticipated to lodge purposes for the farm in mid 2025 with a goal operational date of 2028.
“Queensland is a fantastic place to develop renewable energy projects, given the strong support of the Queensland government through its Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan under the leadership of (Energy) Minister De Brenni,” he mentioned in a launch asserting Merrawindi.
“As a proud Queensland-based company, REP is excited to be playing its part in the energy transition here in Queensland”.
The authorities is spending $62bn to reconfigure the state’s vitality system and transfer it onto a renewables base.
Mr de Brenni, talking with enterprise leaders in Mackay in 2022 following the discharge of the plan, mentioned the shift would assist companies inoculate themselves from international worth shocks whereas additionally addressing local weather change issues.
“(The plan will) Decouple our state, the businesses, those big electricity users, from those global price shocks. We need to move to a fuel system that is based on fuel that Queenslanders own and one that is low emissions as well,” he mentioned.
Alongside Merrawindi, REP is pursuing wind farms in Proserpine in North Queensland and within the Tarong and Wandoan areas of the southeast.
It can be creating a $6.5bn vitality challenge west of Mackay referred to as the Capricornia Energy Hub.
The hub, which is backed by international clear vitality funding fund Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, would implant a 750MW pumped hydro plant, a 500MW wind farm and a photo voltaic farm.
Mr McDonald mentioned geotechnical work had begun on the pumped hydro part’s decrease reservoir.
https://thewest.com.au/business/renewable-energy-partners-proposes-800m-wind-farm-for-south-east-qld-c-14194091