The construction of new 65-kilometre transmission lines that help evacuate energy from MacIntyre Wind Farm, the largest of its kind in Australia has been completed. With a 330kV capacity, the lines together with two 330 kilovolt (kV) switching stations and a total of 165 towers were constructed by Powerlink Queensland.
Formally known as Queensland Electricity Transmission Corporation Limited, the latter is an electricity transmission company owned by the Government of Queensland. The company operates the high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure in Queensland.
Speaking on this milestone, Powerlink Chief Executive Paul Simshauser described it as significant and one of Powerlink’s flagship projects. According to Simshauser, the MacIntyre Wind Farm is the first stage in the company’s Southern Downs Renewable Energy Zone.
“We are extremely proud to be partnering with ACCIONA Energia to connect this world-class project to our transmission network, supporting the state’s renewable energy targets and creating jobs and economic benefits for the region,” commented the Powerlink Chief Executive.
ACCIONA Energia is a subsidiary of Acciona, S.A. and the developer and owner of the MacIntyre Wind Farm. Acciona is a Spanish multinational conglomerate that develops and manages infrastructure and renewable energy.
According to ACCIONA Energia Managing Director Brett Wickham, the completion of construction of the transmission lines and associated works is a major achievement in Queensland’s energy transition efforts. Wickham also acknowledged Powerlink for being an outstanding partner on this project to connect the biggest wind farm in the southern hemisphere to the national electricity grid.
An Overview of MacIntyre Wind Farm
MacIntyre is a 923 MW wind power plant that sits on land predominately used for sheep farming in Queensland, Australia. The project site was reportedly selected due to its exposure to consistent winds across this part of the country thus providing a suitable resource for the development of a wind farm.
Initially, the MacIntyre Wind Farm was set to be a gigawatt scale facility with a 1,026-MW capacity. 923MW was to be developed and constructed by ACCIONA while CleanCo Queensland, a government-owned electricity generation and trading company engaged in a mix of renewable energy and innovative energy solutions would be in charge of 103 MW.
The latter, however, dropped its intention to develop the 103MW reducing the total capacity of the MacIntyre Wind Farm to 923 MW as a result. Nevertheless, Acciona has hopes of expanding the facility into a 2 GW renewable energy hub.
The project was announced back in March 2020. The project construction began in June 2022 following the approval of all necessary documents and the acquisition of construction funds. The construction works are already completed and the first wind turbines are expected to start supplying power to the grid in stages through 2024 and 2025. Currently, the wind farm is currently undergoing testing and commissioning.
Once fully operational, the MacIntyre Wind Power plant will have the capacity to power up to 700,000 homes with renewable wind energy.
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