Provisions to protect the affordability of local housing and koalas were conditions of Queensland Government approval for one of the country’s largest publicly-owned wind farms.
The State Government has approved a State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) application for the Tarong West Wind Farm.
Publicly-owned Stanwell Corporation will building the 436.5MW wind farm on the South Burnett, 200km north-west of Brisbane.
State Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said the assessment considered an accommodation strategy for workers to ensure housing supply in the region would not be adversely affected.
Minister de Brenni said SARA would also work closely with the Department of Resources to ensure that the development helped protect important areas of ecological significance, including protecting up to 13.47ha of koala habitat.
“Conditions have been imposed for offsetting impacts for up to 5.4 ha of koala habitat in addition to requirements to rehabilitate areas cleared during construction, to the greatest extent possible,” he said.
Minister de Brenni said Stanwell was working with global renewable energy developer RES to build the wind farm, which will be located 30km south-west of Kingaroy.
He said the project will feature 97 wind turbines and produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 230,000 homes.
“The project will provide big opportunities for local jobs and the economy, and is estimated to create approximately 200 jobs during construction and 15 ongoing operational roles,” he said.
Construction is expected to commence from 2025.
