Queensland approves new 240MW wind farm for Western Downs region

A 240MW wind farm proposed for construction in Queensland’s Western Downs region has been approved for development by the state government.

Queensland minister for development and planning Cameron Dick says the $450 million project by UK-based developer RES Group had won approval for 56 turbines at a site in Dulacca, 250km north-west of Toowoomba.

RES Group said construction of the wind farm was now slated to begin in early 2020 and be fully operational by 2021. The company is also considering the possibility of adding solar on the same site.

“The wind farm development approval is a significant milestone for the project and we are excited to bring a renewable energy project of this scale to the Western Downs region,” said RES Group’s development project manager Llion Parry.

“The site for the wind farm was chosen due to its excellent wind resource, proximity to the transmission network, and low environmental impact.”

For Queensland, the Dulacca project adds to the largely solar state’s growing portfolio of wind energy projects, including the 453MW Cooper’s Gap wind farm, which AGL has sold to the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF).

State energy minister Anthony Lynham said the Dulacca project followed the $48 million Baking Board solar farm at Chinchilla and $217 million Darling Downs solar farm, which started operating on the Western Downs late last year, as well as another five south-west renewable energy projects either committed or underway.

“This is yet another project generating jobs and renewable energy for Queensland, as we transition steadily towards our target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030,” Dr Lynham said.

Construction of the Dulacca wind farm is expected to create around 400 construction jobs and 35 ongoing jobs, starting early next year.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that RES Group was behind the Snowtown 2 wind farm in South Australia. This is, this is a Tilt Renewables project.