Major chains sign deal to buy energy from Australia’s biggest wind and solar farms

Queensland’s state owned clean energy generator and retailer CleanCo has signed an important new deal  with Wesfarmers to provide renewable energy to a number of its major retail chains like Kmart, Target, Bunnings, and Officeworks.

The announcement was made on Thursday by Queensland energy minister Mick de Brenni, who says the deal represents a major step forward for renewable energy made and delivered in Queensland.

“This is proof our publicly-owned CleanCo is getting on with the job of connecting businesses in Queensland to clean, reliable energy from Queensland renewables and helping decarbonise our economy,” said de Brenni.

“Every time Queenslanders visit these iconic retailers – whether to Bunnings for mowers, Officeworks for school supplies or Kmart or Target for clothes for the kids – they are now supporting Queensland renewables jobs.”

CleanCo interim CEO Darryl Rowell said Kmart, Target and Officeworks have contracts for energy and large-scale generation certificates to the end of 2030, while the Bunnings component is signed up to 2027.

The output will be provided through CleanCo’s off-take agreements with Neoen’s 420MW Western Downs solar farm, which will be the biggest in the country when it comes on line, and the 1.02GW MacIntyre wind complex, which will be the biggest wind farm.

“Deals such as these allow us to support business and industry to reduce their carbon footprint with affordable, reliable green energy,” Rowell said.

CleanCo currently operates a number of assets including several run-of-river hydroelectric plants, the 570MW Wivenhoe pumped storage hydro plant, along with the 385MW Swanbank E combined cycle gas plant and the Kogan North coal seam gas plant.

The agreement also serves as an important step for Wesfarmers and its subsidiaries in their own renewables’ targets. Wesfarmers has committed to reaching 100% renewables by 2025, while Bunnings is similarly aiming at sourcing 100% renewable electricity by 2025.

“This builds on the work we have already done to increase our renewable power use by installing solar PV systems at 88 sites across Australia, generating the equivalent capacity to power over 4,600 households,” said Bunnings managing director Michael Schneider.

“While we’ve made positive headway, we recognise we have a lot more to do in this space, and we look forward to pursuing more initiatives to reduce our footprint.”