ACCIONA’s MacIntyre Wind Farm has achieved a significant milestone, with development approval granted by Queensland’s State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) to build the project.
The approval clears the way for the 1,026MW MacIntyre Wind Farm Precinct to move to the next stage of development, with construction expected to start in the second half of 2021.Generating enough clean energy to power 700,000 Queensland households, the MacIntyre Precinct will be a major contributor to achieving the Queensland government’s goal of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
Featuring 162 turbines, ACCIONA will build, own and operate the MacIntyre Wind Farm. The company will develop the project in partnership with Ark Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc Co., and the Australian vehicle for its clean energy business.
The project also see involvement from the Queensland state government’s own renewable energy generator, CleanCo. CleanCo will own and operate the adjacent Karara Wind Farm, which will house 18 turbines capable of producing up to 103 megawatts of power.
ACCIONA’s Australian managing director for Energy, Brett Wickham, said the MacIntyre wind farm represents the company’s largest ever wind farm.
“We are excited to be moving forward with this project and are proud to support the Queensland Government’s decarbonisation strategy,” he said.
The precinct will avoid the emission of nearly three million tons of carbon dioxide each year, with construction slated to begin in the second half of 2021.
The project represents the largest wind farm that ACCIONA has constructed and will be fully operational by 2024. Up to 400 local jobs will be created during the construction phase, while the local supplier spend during this period is expected to exceed $500 million.