Following the announcement of the development of the new Herries Range Wind Farm project, Queensland will be the location of one of the largest onshore wind farms.
The new 1,000MW Herries Range Wind Farm will be developed within the MacIntyre Wind Precinct west of Warwick, raising the precinct’s worth 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 agreement demonstrated Queensland’s leadership in attracting international investment in the global energy change.
“Our Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is all about bringing more cheaper, cleaner energy into the system, while building the Queensland economy, and that’s exactly that this deal does,” Premier Palaszczuk stated.
The Premier added that ACCIONA Energia is one of the world’s leading renewable energy project developers, and this additional $2 billion investment demonstrates Queensland’s status as a renewable energy superpower.
“The $62 billion Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan will unlock even more investment, more economic growth for Queensland, and more good jobs,” Premier Palaszczuk said.
According to the Premier, this transaction also illustrates that Queensland’s audacious aim of delivering an energy system comprised of 70 per cent renewable energy by 2032 has piqued the curiosity of investors.
“And while industry partnerships like this will be critical to bring more 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,” the Premier added.
The MacIntyre Wind Precinct, located in the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone, will now contain ACCIONA Energia’s MacIntrye and Herries Range wind farms and CleanCo, a government-owned energy corporation.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles stated that building the 180-turbine Herries Range project would support up to 600 more jobs.
“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,” Deputy Premier Miles said.
Deputy Premier Miles added that that’s on top of the 220 workers required to construct Powerlink’s transmission infrastructure, which, as part of our new SuperGrid, will transmit clean energy from the MacIntyre Wind Precinct where and when it’s needed.
Treasurer Cameron Dick stated that the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan would boost and support the state’s excellent economic performance for future generations.
“Make no mistake: Queensland is perfectly positioned to capture and maximise the benefits of what truly is the biggest opportunity since the industrial revolution,” the Treasurer said.
The Treasurer added that with more than 50 large-scale renewable energy projects already financially committed, under development, or operational across the State, it’s evident that Queensland has set the policy parameters for a successful future powered by Queensland-made renewable electricity.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni stated that the expanded MacIntyre Wind Precinct would include thousands of Queenslanders in another critical step for the nation in its efforts to protect homes and businesses from vulnerability 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,” Minister de Brenni said.
Minister de Brenni added that it also represents another significant step towards energy independence, bringing us closer to the point where we will no longer be exposed to global fossil fuel markets and their inflationary impact on energy prices.
The precinct will be included in the Southern Renewable Energy Zone.
According to ACCIONA Energia Managing Director Brett Wickham, the Herries Range Wind Farm would be the company’s third renewable energy project in Queensland. The 600MWp Aldoga solar farm is already under construction near Gladstone.
Wickham said it was logical for ACCIONA Energia to expand the MacIntyre Precinct. Wickham stated that farmers, residents, and the community strongly favour the precinct.
“And, of course, Queensland’s renewable energy policies have given us the long-term confidence to keep investing in the sunshine state,” Wickham added,
Wickham said the company’s objective is to continue the development of MacIntyre into Herries Range, allowing employees to travel from one large-scale project to the next while remaining in the same location.
“We’re looking forward to sharing more details with the community and potential suppliers as the project progresses,” he added.
The MacIntyre Wind Precinct will now include three sites that will generate over 2,000MW of renewable energy, enough to power 1.4 million homes.
