Ground has been broken and construction has officially begun on Wambo Wind Farm, north-west of Dalby in Queensland.
The Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen, Mick de Brenni, was joined by officials from Cubico and Stanwell last week to officially launch the project as part of the Palaszczuk Government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.
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The milestone comes less than a week after the government announced a further half a billion dollars of investment to propel the development of large-scale solar and wind projects, and its commitment to maintain a majority share in energy generation.
The Wambo Wind Farm is backed by a $192.5 million investment from the Palaszczuk Government’s Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund for Stanwell’s 50% share in the project.
The wind farm, which will soon vaunt some of the largest onshore wind turbines in the nation, at 247m is the latest project to join Stanwell’s rapidly advancing portfolio of renewable energy assets to support the Queensland Energy and Jobs plan target of 80% renewable energy by 2035.
The project, and its grid connection, is anticipated to create around 450 jobs in construction with clean energy set to protect jobs in Queensland’s biggest industries, including mining, manufacturing, and agriculture.
Wambo Wind Farm is being delivered by two publicly owned Queensland energy companies, Powerlink Queensland for grid connection works, and Stanwell Corporation as a joint venture partnership with Cubico Sustainable Investments.
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said, “Today marks another important step forward to Queensland’s renewable energy future—starting construction of the Wambo Wind Farm, and propelling us closer to our renewable energy target of 50% renewable energy by 2030, and 80% renewable energy by 2035.
“The Wambo Wind Farm is a prime example of the Palaszczuk Government partnering with the private sector to deliver clean energy to Queenslanders, while retaining control of the energy system.
“The power generated by the 42 wind turbines northwest of Dalby will be sent to the Queensland SuperGrid in 2025, to be connected to the state’s next pumped hydro at Borumba, west of the Sunshine Coast in 2032.”
Cubico country head Australia David Smith said,“Cubico has been developing Wambo Wind Farm with Renewable Energy Partners since 2019, so we’re incredibly excited to have moved into construction for stage 1 of the project.
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“This is a real landmark in Queensland’s transition from coal to renewables and we’ve been very pleased to partner with the Queensland Government, Stanwell and Powerlink, which all share in our commitment to decarbonise Australia.
“Importantly, the project will play a significant role in supporting the Queensland Government’s Energy and Jobs Plan, and we are proud to be at the forefront of providing a transition to renewables for energy workers.”
