Clarke Creek Wind Farm has reached a major milestone today, with a ground-breaking ceremony marking the commencement of construction.
The Clarke Creek Wind Farm is an 800 MW wind project located in the heart of Central Queensland, approximately 150 km north-west of Rockhampton. It will become one of the largest wind farms in the southern hemisphere upon completion.
The wind farm is part of a wider 1,200 MW project being developed by Squadron Energy, which also comprises 400 MW of solar power and battery energy storage.
Stanwell CEO Michael O’Rourke and Richard Jeffery A/EGM Growth and Future Energy attended the ceremony as special guests to acknowledgeStanwell’s 346.5 MW long-term offtake agreement with the project.
“The first stage of the project is planned to include 100 wind turbines exporting 450 MW of electricity into the national electricity grid in 2024,” Michael said.
“Stanwell will take 346.5 MW from the Stage 1 generation to sell to our commercial and industrial customers.
“We will act as intermediary for the wind farm which means that we will be responsible for the dispatch and the bidding of the electricity generated into the National Electricity Market.”
“This is a great outcome for Stanwell and our customers who are increasingly seeking clean energy solutions to meet their own decarbonisation requirements.”
As part of Stanwell’s offtake agreement, Clarke Creek Wind Farm committed to prioritising Queensland businesses, supporting local jobs in regional Queensland, and investing where possible in local Queensland economies.
“The first stage construction phase of the project will create up to 350 jobs, and up to 25 to 30 full time jobs once the wind farm is operational,” Michael said.
“We are in discussions with Goldwind Australia, as Operations and Maintenance provider to the project, for opportunities for our people to work on the project.
“This will enable us to upskill our workforce and position our people with new skills for the future.”
