The Queensland Government has approved the Bungaban and Wongalee wind farm projects, after freezing them earlier this year.
Windlab will deliver the wind farms, which will each supply 1.4GW of clean energy to the grid. Windlab is a private company majority-owned by resources billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy.
In the case of Bungaban, 80 per cent of its generated electricity will be supplied to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone minerals processing facilities over a period of 25 years.
The remaining 20 per cent of Bungaban’s generation will supply the National Electricity Market, producing enough clean energy to power the equivalent of one in 13 Queensland households.
As a whole, Bungaban is set to eliminate approximately 3.9 million tonnes annually of carbon emissions from the nation’s generation profile, the equivalent of removing over 1.6million cars from Australia’s roads each year.
“Reaching our renewable energy targets is essential, and projects like this demonstrate how we can transition at scale while ensuring Queensland’s key industries remain competitive in a low-carbon economy,” Windlab CEO John Martin said.
The approvals follow around two years of extensive technical design, detailed environmental assessments, and ongoing engagement with Traditional Owners, landholders, government agencies, and the local community.
With state development approval now secured, the projects will move into detailed design and delivery planning.
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