News

Although there hasn’t been an official announcement, it appears the Wambo Wind Farm, located near the Bunya Mountains in the Western Downs region of Queensland, has received all necessary approvals for construction to start.

In a recent yearly review, state-owned energy company Stanwell Corporation classified the project as “committed”.

Wambo Wind Farm will be constructed in stages, with the first stage consisting of approximately 42 turbines producing 252 MW. Stage 2 could double that capacity but is contingent on grid availability and feasibility studies.

Providing more evidence of the project going ahead, Vestas this week announced receiving an order for 42 EnVentus V162-6.2 MW wind turbines, operating in 6 MW mode for a total capacity of 252 MW, “to power an undisclosed wind project in Australia”.

Vestas said it will also deliver the EPC of the turbines, “as well as a 30-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to optimise the performance of the assets”.

Delivery of the turbines is expected in quarter one of 2024, with commissioning planned for quarter four that year.

The project is expected to employ around 200 people during construction, with up to 20 ongoing maintenance and operational roles created.

In March last year Stanwell announced a potential joint venture with Cubico which would lead to an up to $192.5mil investment from the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund to deliver its proportion of the project.

The joint venture would see “Stanwell own 50 per cent of the Wambo Wind Farm’s output and dispatch the remaining 50 per cent of the power generated under a power purchase agreement”.