One of Australia’s biggest wind farms forced to revisit off-take deals after lengthy construction delays and repairs

The owner of what was – for a time – destined to be the biggest wind farm in Australia have been forced to renegotiate key aspects of their power purchase agreements as a result of the lengthy delays in construction and commissioning.

The Macintyre wind farm, in Queensland’s south-east, was originally due to be completed in late 2024, but ran into issues early in its development and was then forced to replace equipment on dozens of its Nordex turbines after a turbine blade break in December, 2024. It is now not expected to be complete until mid 2027.

The project – majority owned by Spain’s Acciona Energía – was originally sized at more than one gigawatt – which would have made it the first in the country to reach that scale.

But it was downsized to 930 MW after the government owned CleanCo dropped plans for a 103 MW facility within its precinct.

It is now overtaken by the bigger 1.33 GWGolden Plains wind farm in Victoria, but MacIntyre is still not complete, although its output rating has recently upgraded to a new “hold point” of around 670 MW, as more turbine blades are replaced and commissioned.

Annual reports released in the past week from Queensland government-owned utilities CleanCo and Stanwell reveal that their long term power purchase agreements with the MacIntyre wind farm have had to be renegotiated.

“CleanCo agreed an amendment to its off-take agreement with MacIntyre Wind Farm to increase the volume of energy purchased, extend the term of this agreement and resolve commercial matters relating to the delayed delivery of the project,” CleanCo wrote in its annual report.

CleanCo’s annual reports from this year and last year show that the size of its contract with MacIntyre has been increased from 400 MW to 490 MW, now more than half of the rated capacity of the facility.

CleanCo’s off-take agreement with MacIntyre came into effect in 2024, but the project was constrained at half of its capacity because of the commissioning delays and the need to replace key equipment.

A spokesperson for the company told Renew Economy that the term of the contract with Macintyre had been extended, as well as increased in size.

“The specific commercial terms of the agreement, including matters relating to the project’s delayed delivery, are commercially sensitive,” the spokesperson said.

“CleanCo is pleased to continue its relationship with the MacIntyre Wind Farm, which forms an important part of our flexible, lower-emissions portfolio and supports the delivery of reliable, affordable and sustainable energy for Queensland.”

Stanwell also made a small reference to its contract with MacIntyre, which accounts for 150 MW of the wind farm’s capacity.

“Stanwell is engaging with the developer regarding revised long-term offtake arrangements,” Stanwell wrote in notes to its accounts.

A spokesperson for Stanwell told Renew Economy by email that “Stanwell engages closely with project partners throughout the development lifecycle. Those discussions are commercial-in-confidence.”

A spokesperson for Acciona Energía said the company maintains strong and constructive relationships with both CleanCo and Stanwell. Customer agreements are commercial in confidence.

“Commissioning and operational activities are continuing at MacIntyre Wind Farm and the project is progressing through its final stages,” the spokesperson said.

“More than 670 MW of the project’s 923 MW capacity has now been energised, representing around 73 per cent of the wind farm. We currently expect the project to reach commercial operation in mid-2027.”

Note: This story has been updated with a statement from CleanCo.

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