Wind farm proposed
56 turbines, solar panels planned
GLOBAL energy company Renewable Energy Systems’ Australian arm is planning a 240MW wind farm on the Western Downs.
The company is proposing an integrated wind, solar and battery storage energy facility 7km east of Dulacca, which would incorporate up to 56 wind turbines, each up to 250m in height and 70MW of solar panels.
All up, operating at maximum capacity, it is estimated the project will generate about enough renewable energy to power 158,000 homes.
RES Australia said in documents lodged with the Federal Government the proposed project would take up about 1500ha across an 8000ha study area.
Established in Australia in 2004, RES’s recent projects include the Emerald Solar Farm in Queensland, Ararat Wind Farm and Murra Warra Wind and Solar Farm in Victoria and the Taralga Wind Farm in New South Wales.
It is expected the construction of the project will generate around 150-200 direct jobs, and around “460 indirect supply chain jobs”.
The company also said it would employ 8-10 full time staff during the 30-year operation and maintenance phase, and about 20 medium term contract jobs during major maintenance periods.
RES Australia said The Dulacca Renewable Energy Project was committed to establishing a community fund once the project became operational.
“The fund will provide ongoing funding to support local projects, community groups and organisations over the project lifetime,” the project’s website said.
The company also said in documents it had been “engaging with the local community” and that it had “engaged with the Western Downs Regional Council on numerous occasions through the development process to understand their requirements of the proposed project”.
The public are invited to comment on the project’s referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act until February 12 by visiting http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/invitations/.