The Tarong West wind farm has secured federal environmental approval to start construction under the EPBC Act.
The project’s previous planning and grid milestones include receiving a Development Approval from the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) on July 25, 2024, and receipt of a 5.3.4(a) connection letter from the Australian Energy Market Operator and Powerlink Queensland.
The project is set to become one of the largest wind farms in Queensland and Australia’s largest publicly owned wind farm.
“With approvals now in place, we look forward to advancing toward construction in late 2026 and further supporting Queensland’s Energy Road Map,” said global renewable energy developer RES in a LinkedIn post.
Located approximately 30 kilometres west of Kingaroy in Queensland’s South Burnett region, the 436.5-megawatt project will comprise 97 wind turbines and will power up to 230,000 homes.
The project is expected to offset one million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to planting approximately 40 million trees every year.
Government-owned energy developer Stanwell Corporation acquired the project from RES in September 2024, whenthe Queensland government also announced it would backthe project with AU$776 million in funding.
The deal is expected to be finalised once a final investment decision is made and all project approvals have been settled, with the former due early this year.
At the time of the September announcement, Stanwell CEO Michael O’Rourke said: “Adding the 436.5MW Tarong West Wind Farm project into Stanwell’s renewable energy portfolio is an exciting chapter not only in our renewable energy story, but also Queensland’s.
“We will continue to work constructively with RES and in close consultation with the South Burnett community, which we have been a proud part of for four decades, as we develop this project through to final investment decision.”