Queensland – Australia’s greatest fan of renewable energy
15 August 2019
Australia’s soon-to-be largest
wind farm is already propelling power on
Queensland’s Western Downs,
with almost 50 turbines now feeding energy into the
National Electricity
Market.
Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham today joined
AGL to inspect the first
group of towering turbines to come online, only a year after first
breaking ground at Coopers Gap.
“Standing 180 meters high, with blades 67 metres long, these turbines
are an impressive force equipped to harness the
renewable power of
Queensland’s wind,” Dr Lynham said.
“Work is well underway to get all 123 planned turbines up and running
early next year, which is bringing $850 million of investment, 200
construction jobs, and up to 20 ongoing operational jobs to the region.”
The
Coopers Gap Wind Farm, 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane between
Dalby and Kingaroy, has a total capacity of 453 megawatts. It is the
largest wind farm by capacity in Australia with enough energy to power
264,000 Australian homes.
All that power is delivered into the
electricity grid via a new
275-kilovolt substation, built and run by Queensland’s publicly-owned
transmission operator
Powerlink.
“The Palaszczuk Government is putting the right policies in place to
help deliver large-scale renewable projects like Coopers Gap,” Dr Lynham
said.
“Solar is already massive in Queensland and wind is on the rise, with
two operating wind farms at Windy Hill and Mt Emerald, two under
construction including here at Coopers Gap and we’ve just announced that
five wind farms have been shortlisted for the final stage of the
Government’s Renewables 400 program.
“We’re well on track to reach our target of 50 percent renewable energy
by 2030.”
AGL General Manager Development and Construction Dave Johnson said AGL
looked forward to safely completing commissioning of Australia’s largest
wind farm.
“We thank and greatly appreciate the continued support and cooperation
of all key stakeholders such as the Queensland Government, the Western
Downs and South Burnett councils and local landowners, which have been
crucial in getting to this stage,” he said.
“We greatly appreciate the support and guidance of the Australian Energy
Market Operator and Powerlink Queensland to finalise the grid connection
and ensure the wind farm is safely commissioned.
“A significant proportion of the investment in this project from AGL and
the Powering Australian Renewables Fund has been spent with local
businesses and contractors.”
BACKGROUND
Queensland has more than 2400 megawatts of large‑scale renewable energy
capacity operating already. Almost 900 megawatts more of large-scale
renewable capacity is currently financially committed or under
construction.
Together, these projects represents more than $5 billion in capital
investment and more than 4500 constructions jobs in regional Queensland.
--ENDS--
Source: Queensland Government - www.statements.qld.gov.au
Contact: Media inquiries: Jan Martin 0439 341 314
External Links: N/A
Recent news by: Queensland Government