Genex lands 10-year supply contract for huge Kidston wind project

Listed renewable and storage developer Genex Power has landed a 10-year power purchase deal with utility giant EnergyAustralia for its proposed 258MW wind project in a major boost for its Kidston green energy hub in Queensland.

The deal means that the Kidston project will combine an existing solar farm (50MW), the 250 MW, eight hour pumped hydro storage now being built at Kidston’s disused open pit coal mine, and a new wind project. An expanded solar facility may still follow.

The deal between Genex and EnergyAustralia will account for around 30 per cent of the proposed output from Kidston Wind, which is jointly owned by Genex and its Japanese partner J-Power.

It continues a successful string of deals for Genex, which recently signed up aspiring green hydrogen producer Fortescue as the foundation customer for the first 450 MW solar stage of the huge 2GW Bulli Creek project in southern Queensland.

EnergyAustralia also has the operating rights for the Kidston pumped hydro project and will pay a fixed price for the output of the Kidston wind component, which will form part of its “firmed” renewables supply for customers.

EnergyAustralia CEO Mark Collette says the deal will bring the company closer to its goal of having up to 3GW of renewable energy capacity in operation by 2030. It is due to close its Yallourn brown coal power generator in Victoria in 2027. 

“Both Kidston Wind and the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project are important steps in delivering EnergyAustralia’s purpose to lead and accelerate the clean energy transformation for all,” Collette said in a statement.

Genex, meanwhile, is looking for more customers for the Kidston wind project and hopes to reach financial close in late 2024, with generation to begin in 2026.

CEO Craig Francis said the deal with EnergyAustralia is a significant milestone for the clean energy hub at Kidston, and a “material step” in mitigating project risk.

Francis told RenewEconomy that the wind project, to be located on pastoral leases less than 20kms from the Kidston mine, would help fill in new capacity from the new transmission link being built at the site.

He said the report into the recent fire in a Tesla Megapack module at the new Bouldercombe battery near Rockhampton is still being finalised, but the company is still hopeful to complete commissioning by the end of the month.