Acciona Energia to build a new Queensland wind farm worth $2 billion

Acciona Energia, queensland, renewable energy, sustainability, wind farm,

November 30, 2022

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Queensland to host one of the world’s largest wind farms, with Acciona Energia to build the new Herries Range Wind Farm in the MacIntyre Wind Precinct.

The new 1,000MW Herries Range Wind Farm will be built within the MacIntyre Wind Precinct, west of Warwick, bringing the precinct value to $4 billion and the total amount of renewable energy to 2,000 MW – enough to power 1.4 million Queensland homes.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the deal showed Queensland was a front-runner in attracting international investment in the global energy transformation.

“Our Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan are all about bringing cheaper, cleaner energy into the system, which building the Queensland economy, and that’s exactly what this deal does,” says Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

“ACCIONA Energia is one of the world’s leading developers of renewable energy projects, and this additional $2 billion commitment strongly indicates that Queensland is a renewable energy superpower,” says Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

“The $62 billion Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan will unlock even more investment, economic growth for Queensland, and more good jobs,” says Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

“This deal also demonstrates that our bold vision to deliver an energy system of 70 per cent renewable energy by 2032 has boosted investor interest,” says Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

“And while industry partnerships like this will be critical to bringing cleaner, cheaper energy into the system, we will importantly still maintain majority public ownership of the Queensland energy system, meaning we will control our energy transformation,” says Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

The MacIntyre Wind Precinct, located in the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone, will now include ACCIONA Energia’s MacIntrye and Herries Range wind farms and government-owned energy company CleanCo’s proposed Karara Wind Farm.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the 180-turbine Herries Range project would support up to 600 additional jobs during construction.

“The first two wind farms within the MacIntyre Wind Precinct – ACCIONA Energia’s 162-turbine MacIntyre Wind Farm and publicly owned CleanCo’s proposed 18-turbine Karara Wind Farm – were already expected to support 400 construction jobs,” says Deputy Premier Steven Miles.

“And that’s always been in addition to the 220 workers needed to build Powerlink’s transmission infrastructure that, as part of our new SuperGrid, will deliver the clean energy from MacIntyre Wind Precinct where and when it’s needed,” says Deputy Premier Steven Miles.

Treasurer Cameron Dick said the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan would supercharge and underpin the state’s strong economic performance for generations to come.

“Make no mistake: Queensland is perfectly positioned to capture and maximise the benefits of what truly is the biggest opportunity since the industrial revolution,” says Treasurer Cameron Dick. 

“And with over 50 large-scale renewable energy projects now financially committed, under construction or operational across the state, it’s clear we have the policy settings right for a prosperous future powered by Queensland-made renewable electricity,” Treasurer Cameron Dick.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said the expanded MacIntyre Wind Precinct would mean thousands of Queenslanders engaged in another significant step for the nation as it strives to shield households and businesses from exposure to volatile and expensive global fossil fuel markets.

“This precinct will support ongoing local jobs and local supply chain opportunities with hundreds of millions of dollars in procurement from businesses based in and around towns like Warwick, Inglewood and Toowoomba,” says Energy Minister Mick de Brenni. 

“Importantly, it also means another big step towards energy independence, edging closer and closer to a point where our exposure to global fossil fuel markets and their inflationary impact on energy prices will be over,” says Energy Minister Mick de Brenni.

The precinct will be part of the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone.

ACCIONA Energia managing director Brett Wickham said the Herries Range Wind Farm would be the company’s third clean energy project in Queensland. The 600MWp Aldoga solar farm is also under development near Gladstone.

“We plan to roll from the construction of MacIntyre straight into Herries Range, which will mean that workers can move from one large-scale project to the next whilst staying in the same area,” says ACCIONA Energia managing director Brett Wickham.

The MacIntyre Wind Precinct will now consist of three sites generating a combined total of over 2,000MW of renewable energy – enough power for 1.4 million households.

The Precinct consists of the following:

• Karara Wind Farm – 18 Turbines – 102.6MW
• MacIntyre Wind Farm – 162 Turbines – 923MW
• Herries Range Wind Farm – 180 Turbines – 1,026MW

The expanded precinct will dwarf all other operating wind farms in Australia:

• Coopers Gap Wind Farm– (QLD) – 453MW
• Sapphire Wind Farm – (NSW) – 270MW
• Stockyard Hill Wind Farm – (VIC) – 511MW
• Snowtown Wind Farm (SA) – 370MW

Click here for more information on the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.

Source: © The State of Queensland 1997–2022 (Department of the Premier and Cabinet)

Image source: © Acciona 2022

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