All clear in wind turbine project

CONSTRUCTION on a wind farm capable of generating power for more than 57,000 homes is expected to start on the Tablelands later this year.

The Queensland Government has granted development approval for French company Neoen’s planned $300 million green power hub at Kaban, about 6km northeast of Ravenshoe.

The power hub will include 29 wind turbines, a substation, and a battery storage unit, which developers say will be the one of the largest grid-scale batteries in the world.

State Development Minister Cameron Dick said the wind farm project would bring substantial investment to the region, and was expected to create about 150 jobs during its construction.

He said each turbine, with a maximum height of 240m, would have an electrical output of up to 5.5 megawatts.

It is expected that the total generation capacity would be up to 160MW.

“Neoen worked closely with the department to assess acoustic impacts on nearby houses, impacts on fauna, native vegetation clearing and traffic impacts,” Mr Dick said.

“Conditions are recommended to be imposed on the decision that will mitigate and manage acoustic, flora and fauna and traffic impacts.”

Neoen plans to begin construction of Kaban in the third quarter of 2018.

The wind farm is the third to have been approved for the Tablelands, with Ratch Australia’s existing Windy Hill project at Ravenshoe, and construction about halfway through completion at the company’s Mt Emerald project at Walkamin.

Energy Minister Anthony Lynham said the newest wind farm would complement more than 24 large-scale projects that were currently committed or under construction across Queensland.

This includes the recently announced $200 million Lakeland wind farm, south of Cooktown.