Andrew Forrest-backed wind project back before EPBC, this time for grid connection

A 400 megawatt (MW) wind project backed by iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest has returned to the federal environmental process, this time to find out whether the connection work needs oversight. 

Gawara Baya, the wind project formerly known as the Upper Burdekin wind farm in north Queensland, won its final EPBC tick late last year.

Now the reportedly $1.4 billion project is back on the EPBC notices, with a request to find out whether plans to connect the project to the local grid will also need oversight. 

But this time, it’s Queensland’s state owned transmission company Powerlink that is doing the heavy lifting as it owns the connection project, rather than the wind project developer Windlab.

In order to connect the 67 turbines to the grid, the developer needs to build two 275 kV transmission lines, six towers, and enlarge an existing substation, on a 12 hectare site.

The concerns for the EPBC planners are the extent of clearing native ground cover around the substation and under the transmission lines, as well as for temporary work areas. 

A long digestion period

Gawara Baya took four years to move through the EPBC process and now has both state and federal approvals. But it also faced vehement opposition from Queensland groups opposed to wind farms. 

In 2023, Windlab shrunk the proposal from 600–950 MW to 400 MW during the EPBC process, although its own public environmental report said the smaller footprint will still create “unavoidable” consequences for several threatened and endangered species.

The report said the development is likely to harm a variety of protected species, due to the removal of 662 hectares (ha) of Sharman’s rock wallaby habitat, 746 ha of koala habitat, 709 ha of northern greater glider habitat, and 754 ha of red goshawk habitat, within a 769 ha footprint.

The report also said habitat critical to the survival of these animals will be available in the project area, and plans to use biodiversity offsets to compensate for the unavoidable consequences the wind farm will have on the species.

The land itself was being used for cattle gazing.

The main transmission line forming the spine of Queensland’s grid has been popular for wind developers, but not an easy sell. 

Next door to the Windlab site is TagEnergy’s Mt Fox wind park, which is now down a battery after a post-development approval court case prompted the developer to give that part of the project up and is still waiting on EPBC approval. 

In the far north, Ark Energy dumped its 294 MW Wooroora Station wind project further to the north, itself formerly known as the Chalumbin wind project, after being advised it would be refused EPBC approval because of its impact on biodiversity close to a World Heritage Area.

Opponents included Rainforest Reserves founder Steven Nowakowski, who is aligned with nuclear advocacy activities funded by the likes of Advance Australia, and Stop Chalumbin Wind Farm.

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