Epuron reboots wind farm rejected by feds to protect koala population

The central Queensland wind farm that was rejected by the federal government for posing a “clearly unacceptable” threat to koalas is back in the development pipeline, awaiting state and federal approvals, after a redesign resulting in less turbines and more megawatts.

Renewables developer Epuron said on Monday that a revised development application and accompanying assessment reports for the Lotus Creek wind farm, located 20km west of St Lawrence, had been lodged with the Queensland government in December 2021.

Epuron said it had also responded to a request for further information from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) for its assessment of the proposal under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Federal environment minister Sussan Ley rejected the original plans for the then 200MW project back in June of 2020, ruling the project “clearly unacceptable” for its potential impact on threatened native animal species, including the koala.

At that stage, the Lotus Creek wind farm had been proposed for construction on mostly cattle-grazing land 20km west of St Lawrence, “to produce clean and low-cost electricity” from “consistent winds” that blow across the nearby Connors Range.

The project would have required the clearing of old-growth forest in the Clarke-Connors Range, however, and Ley flagged the potential impact on koala populations, as well as on other listed threatened species including the greater glider.

“There was a clear presence of species whose populations have been impacted by bushfires and that was an important consideration,” the minister said at the time. “It is open to the proponent to consider whether it wishes to put forward an alternative ­proposal.”

Epuron took on board these recommendations and in October of 2020 announced a redesign of the project’s layout, including the removal of turbines from the offending areas.

Epuron this week released a map of the new design of the wind farm (above), which is now proposed to comprise 55 turbines (down from 81) and have a total generation capacity of around 341MW, according to the project website.

The company has also announced community information sessions for the wind farm to be held in St Lawrence and Clarke Creek in March (see dates and times here) to share more details about the proposal and discuss it with locals.

Meanwhile, Epuron is working up plans for another wind project in central Queensland, the Boomer Range wind farm, which is being investigated for a site around 30 km south-west of Marlborough and 70km south of St Lawrence.

On its website, Epuron says the site has strong winds, access to high voltage transmission lines and good road access with few neighbouring properties.

“The project is at the early stages and Epuron is engaging with landowners, the site’s Traditional Owners the Barada Kabalbara Yetimarala People and other stakeholders,” the company said.

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