The Queensland Government has announced that construction has officially started on the Wambo Wind Farm.
Minister for Energy, Renewables, and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni joined representatives from Cubico and Stanwell to formally launch the initiative as part of the State Government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.
“Today marks another important step forward to Queensland’s renewable energy future – starting construction of the Wambo Wind Farm, and propelling us closer to our renewable energy target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, and 80 per cent renewable energy by 2035,” Minister de Brenni said.
Minister de Brenni stated that the Wambo Wind Farm is an excellent example of the Palaszczuk Government collaborating with the business sector to provide renewable energy to Queenslanders while maintaining control of the energy system.
“The power generated by the 42 wind turbines northwest of Dalby will be sent to the Queensland SuperGrid in 2025, to be connected to the state’s next pumped hydro at Borumba, west of the Sunshine Coast in 2032,” the Minister added.
The achievement comes less than a week after the Government pledged an additional $500 million in funding to spur the development of large-scale solar and wind projects and its resolve to preserve a majority share of energy generation.
Stanwell’s 50% stake in the Wambo Wind Farm is backed by a $192.5 million investment from the Palaszczuk Government’s Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund.
The wind farm, which will soon boast some of the nation’s largest onshore wind turbines, is the latest project to join Stanwell’s fast-expanding portfolio of renewable energy assets to support the Queensland Energy and Jobs plan’s 80% renewable energy goal by 2035.
Stanwell Michael O’Rourke said the 42-turbine wind farm is part of Stanwell’s fast-expanding renewable energy pipeline, which is expected to comprise 9-10 GW of clean energy capacity by 2035.
“Our growing pipeline means that we can expand our renewable offerings for our commercial and industrial customers and support the Palaszczuk Government’s target of 80% renewable energy by 2035,” O’Rourke stated.
“Today we have taken a significant step forward for Queensland’s renewable energy industry, and a major milestone in our journey to provide reliable, secure and affordable energy products for our commercial and industrial customers who want to power their businesses with clean renewable energy,” O’Rourke added.
The project and its grid connection are expected to generate around 450 construction jobs, with clean energy projected to protect jobs in Queensland’s biggest industries, including mining, manufacturing, and agriculture.
Wambo Wind Farm is being built by two publicly traded Queensland energy companies: Powerlink Queensland for grid connection work and Stanwell Corporation in collaboration with Cubico Sustainable Investments.
“Cubico has been developing Wambo Wind Farm with Renewable Energy Partners since 2019, so we’re incredibly excited to have moved into construction for stage 1 of the project,” Cubico David Smith said.
“This is a real landmark in Queensland’s transition from coal to renewables and we’ve been very pleased to partner with the Queensland Government, Stanwell and Powerlink, which all share in our commitment to decarbonise Australia,” Smith added.
