Queensland planning regulators have approved Stanwell Corp's proposal to construct a 436.5-MW wind farm, aimed at decarbonizing its coal-fired power generation activities.
The Queensland Government announced on Saturday that it had greenlit the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) application for the Tarong West wind project. The project will be funded with AUD 776.1 million (USD 495.5 million/EUR 454.6 million) from the state's Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund. The permit includes conditions for protecting koala habitats and mandates the rehabilitation of land cleared during construction.
Located 30 km southwest of Kingaroy in the South Burnett region, the wind farm will become part of the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone. The project will consist of 97 turbine generators and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 230,000 homes annually. It will be situated near Stanwell's Tarong coal-fired power station.
RES Australia, the original developer of the Tarong West wind project, will collaborate with Stanwell to navigate the approval processes. Construction is set to begin in 2025.
“This development approval brings us one step closer to our aim of having 9 to 10 GW of large-scale wind and solar capacity by 2035,” said Stanwell CEO Michael O'Rourke.
