Renewable

March 1 (Renewables Now) - Spain’s Acciona SA (BME:ANA) today said it has secured environmental approval for its 923-MW MacIntyre wind project in Queensland, Australia.

With construction slated to begin in the second quarter of this year, the project is set to create Acciona Energia’s largest wind farm in Australia. The subsidiary of Spanish renewable energy and infrastructure group Acciona owns 70% of the AUD-1.7-billion (USD 1.23bn/EUR 1.1bn) scheme while Ark Energy Corp, a unit of Korean non-ferrous metals smelter Korea Zinc Co Ltd, holds the remaining 30%.

The MacIntyre wind farm is planned to be installed in Queensland’s Southern Downs region, consisting of 162 Nordex Delta4000 5.7-MW turbines. When commissioned, it will be capable of generating electricity for 620,000 homes. It will operate under a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with CleanCo, Queensland’s publicly-owned utility, for 400 MW of the entire capacity. The plant will also supply electricity to Korea Zinc’s Australian subsidiary Sun Metals Corporation.

The huge wind park will form part of a larger complex with a total capacity of 1,026-MW, which will also encompass the 102.6-MW Karara wind development. The smaller plant will be built by Acciona and owned by CleanCo.

Development approval for the 1,026-MW project was issued by the Queensland government in April last year. The complex is scheduled to be up and running by 2024.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.725/EUR 0.647)

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