Forrest advances plans for another billion dollar wind and battery project in Queensland

Iron ore billionaire and green energy evangelist Andrew Forrest appears to be advancing plans for another gigawatt-scale wind and battery project.

The Australian Financial Review reported this week that more than $1 billion in finance is being sought for the Gawara Baya wind and battery project in Queensland, formerly known as the Upper Burdekin wind farm.

The project is being developed by renewable energy developer Windlab, now majority owned by Forrest’s private interests, and which earlier this year signed a long term power purchase agreement with Rio Tinto for its 1.4 GW Bungaban wind project in Queensland.

Gawara Baya, which apparently means “wind song” in the local Guga Badhun people’s language, is not nearly as big, and will be a 408 megawatt (MW) wind farm and a 104 MW, two-hour (208 MWh) battery, with grid forming technology. The AFR says it will cost $1.4 billion to get up and running, which sounds like a lot for a project of that size.

A spokesman for Squadron Energy would not comment on the report, or the financing being sought. The AFR said the wind project already has connection approvals, and two power purchase agreements for its output.

Windlab says the project is located on a 52,000 hectare “active cattle property” within Gugu Badhun country about 70km inland from Ingham in North Queensland, and is located close to existing electricity transmission network.

Forrest is now one of the most active renewable energy developers in the country, with a goal of building 14 GW of renewable and storage capacity.

Apart from Gawara Baya and the Bungaban projects, construction is also advancing on the 450 MW Clarke Creek wind project in Queensland and the 414 MW Uungula wind project in NSW.

Squadron says it has so far installed 15 turbines at Clarke Creek, with another 25 “well underway.” The company is also advancing the 420 MW Moreton Hill wind project in Victoria, and recently completed the Bango wind farm in NSW.

Squadron has also signed a major $2.7 billion deal with GE for the supply of wind turbines to the Uungula, the 700 MW Spicers Creek and the 400 MW Jeremiah wind projects.