The first turbine has been completed at the 285 megawatt Lotus Creek wind farm in central Queensland, in what is being hailed as a “huge milestone” for a project that has survived the LNP government sell-off and remains 100 per cent owned by a state utility.
The state utility in this case CS Energy, which in July quietly sold off its half-share in one of the few wind projects under construction in Queensland, the Boulder Creek wind farm, as part of a series of LNP-led retreats from equity positions in key renewable projects.
And despite rumours it is looking to do the same with Lotus Creek, the utility continues to usher the project through its early construction milestones, such as the installation of the so-called golden turbine.
“And just like that the golden turbine at Lotus Creek Wind Farm is complete!” CS Energy’s head of renewables and firming Andrew Wilson said on LinkedIn.
“On Sunday the final blade was lifted into place on WTG01, just over two years since financial close and notice to proceed.”
CS Energy bought the $1.3 billion Lotus Creek wind farm in August 2024 from Danish giant Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, marking the first 100 per cent publicly owned wind farm to reach construction phase under the former Labor government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.
But just a few months after that, the LNP won the state election and has since taken Queensland in a starkly different direction on energy policy, dumping its renewable energy targets, pledging to keep coal plants running longer, and raising bar for wind projects to get planning approval.
Under the LNP, the state-owned CleanCo has backed out of a deal to take a stake in the 360 MW Moah Creek wind project, although it may sign a deal to buy the output.
And Stanwell Corporation, in February announced its decision to sell its option over a half share in the 436 MW Tarong West wind project to Innergreen, a private investor that will now partner RES in its development. Stanwell, too, has an option to buy the output of Tarong West.
CS Energy, which owns and operates two of Queensland’s remaining coal plants, said in July that it will still buy all the output from the offloaded Boulder Creek wind farm under a power purchase agreement.
But it also noted that the “new approach” to its equity position in wind projects was in line with the LNP government’s energy roadmap.
“(It) is all about leveraging existing assets to put downward pressure on prices, optimising investments to respect taxpayer funds, and boosting private sector investment in new assets to ease pressure on the State’s balance sheet,” CS Energy Acting CEO Tony Bellas said in a statement.
“We’ve been working with QIC through the Investor Gateway, matching investors and developers to drive new investment across Queensland’s energy sector.”
In the meantime, the erection of the first of 46 turbines at Lotus Creek is well worth celebrating.
“This is a huge milestone for the project and a celebration of the hard work and dedication of everyone who has been part of the journey getting the project to this point,” Wilson said on LinkedIn.
“This includes the CS Energy and Blue Power Partners teams, as well as the Zenviron and Vestas Consortium and their many subcontractors. In fact, over 1,700 people have been inducted so far to work on the project at various stages!”
“As you can glimpse on the horizon there are another nine turbines with pre-installation now completed, so plenty more milestones to come!”
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