WestWind unveils plan for massive 1.5GW wind farm in Sunshine State

The originator of the largest onshore wind farm currently being developed in Australia, the 1.3GW Golden Plains project in Victoria, has unveiled plans to go bigger again and build a 1.5GW wind farm in northern Queensland.

WestWind Energy says it is preparing planning and environmental applications for the newly announced Cameron Downs Energy Park, proposed for development south of Hughenden in Queensland’s Flinders Shire.

The early stage planfor the project is to install up to 200 turbines, with a height of 280 metres from ground to tip, on a site area of around 32,000 hectares.

A project fact sheet says the “significant renewable energy project” would power around one million north Queensland homes and save more than 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

“We are in the early stages of development for the Cameron Downs Energy Park preparing the required planning and environmental applications,” the fact sheet says.

“We’re engaging with local stakeholders to better inform the project development. These include Flinders Shire Council and cultural heritage experts.

“We’ll continue to work collaboratively with landholders, neighbours and other local stakeholders including the community… We’re also working with other developers in the region to maximise the renewable energy benefits possible and ensure quality community outcomes.”

According to the project website, a contribution of $2,000 per turbine would be put towards a local community benefits scheme that would be developed in consultation with the community, and the contributions provided each year to ensure the project’s financial benefits are shared across the region.

WestWind is also currently proposing to develop a 1.5 gigawatt (GW) wind farm in Lake Victoria in south west NSW, kicking off community consultation for that project in late March.

And it was the original developer of the Golden Plains wind farm in Victoria, where construction is underway of the final 577MW stage of the massive 1,333MW project.

The 756MW Golden Plains Wind Farm Stage 1, now owned by TagEnergy, is complete and expected to start producing green energy in the first quarter of 2025, with Stage 2 to follow in mid-2027.

Once complete, Golden Plains Wind Farm will be the biggest in Australia, delivering 9% of Victoria’s energy, or enough to power more than 750,000 homes – the equivalent of every home in regional Victoria.