Renewable Vitality Companions launches Merrawindi wind farm mission

Renewable Vitality Companions, 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 authorized, the farm may energy as much as 180,000 houses, the corporate states, and assist the state authorities obtain its bold goal to hit 70 per cent renewable energy technology by 2032.

The Merrawindi wind farm could be positioned adjoining to the coal-fired Millmerran energy plant close to Toowoomba and the corporate mentioned the positioning was chosen for its “wonderful wind useful resource, proximity to Powerlink’s high-voltage transmission community, sturdy area people assist and the provision of an area, extremely expert workforce”.

“We expect it’s a terrific mission and we simply now must undergo the same old growth steps,” REP chief govt Luke McDonald advised NCA NewsWire on Thursday.

“It’s obtained good grid, good wind sources.

“In our view, it ticks all of the containers of the points you’re searching for in creating a mission by means of to development.”

The corporate has begun inside 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 implausible place to develop renewable power tasks, given the sturdy assist of the Queensland authorities by means of its Queensland Vitality and Jobs Plan beneath the management of (Vitality) Minister De Brenni,” he mentioned in a launch saying Merrawindi.

“As a proud Queensland-based firm, REP is worked up to be enjoying its half within the power transition right here in Queensland”.

The federal government is spending $62bn to reconfigure the state’s power 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 world worth shocks whereas additionally addressing local weather change issues.

“(The plan will) Decouple our state, the companies, these huge electrical energy customers, from these world worth shocks. We have to transfer to a gasoline system that’s primarily based on gasoline that Queenslanders personal and one that’s low emissions as effectively,” 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’s also creating a $6.5bn power mission west of Mackay referred to as the Capricornia Vitality Hub.

The hub, which is backed by world clear power funding fund Copenhagen Infrastructure Companions, 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.