Everything to know about proposed Forest Wind renewable project in Tuan

Questions continue to swirl around a large-scale renewable project between Gympie and Maryborough that promises to deliver energy to a quarter of Qld’s homes.

Questions continue to swirl around large-scale Forest Wind renewable project between Gympie and Maryborough which promises to deliver energy to a quarter of Qld’s homes.

It is a mammoth renewable energy project originally proposed to cost about $2 billion.

But what, exactly, is the plan?

Questions, rumours, and wild claims continue to circle around the proposed Forest Wind wind farm project as concerns continue to be raised about renewable energy projects and their impact on regional areas, particularly the Wide Bay Burnett region.

The project is planned to be built in the Tuan Forest, which stretches from Wallu, 40km northeast of Gympie, to the southeastern outskirts of Maryborough.

It includes construction of up to 226 turbines across the 195,000ha area.

Once constructed it is proposed to have a lifespan of at least 25 years, and be able to produce enough energy to power one in four Queensland homes.

The Forest Wind project proposed to build up to 226 turbines across the 195,000ha Tuan Forest between Gympie and Maryborough.

The turbines themselves are likely to reach a maximum of 265m, according to the visual impact report published online by Forest Wind, and could potentially be even shorter with the website saying tower heights of 160m “are being assessed” with 85m-long rotors.

This would make the tip height about 240m, well short of an oft-claimed comparison to Sydney Tower which stands 309m tall.

A tower height of 160m would be 33 per cent higher than the average height of wind turbines across the Netherlands, France and Belgium, which was reported at 120m in 2017.

The towers themselves would be built farther away from the public than is required, Forest Wind says.

Exclusion zones around the project would be at least 3km, it says, “world leading by international standards, and double the distance required by Queensland government regulations”.

Maps provided by Forest Wind say turbines would be 5.8km from Talegalla Weir, 12.5km from Bauple, 14.3km from Tiaro, 11km from Cooloola Cove, 14km from Tin Can Bay, 3.9km from Maroom, 5.1km from Boonooroo, 6.6km from Poona, 10.1km from Tinnanbar, 14.6km from Glenwood, 22.7km from Gunalda, and 7.2km from Kia Ora.

Turbines proposed to be built are expected to be a maximum of 265m high, with shorter turbines still under assessment, falling below an oft-made comparison to Sydney Tower (which reaches to a height of 309m).

Questions still abound as to whether the project will ever be finished at all.

Development of the project was started by Queensland renewable company CleanSight in 2015, and it was revealed to the public in late 2019.

It was originally planned to be running by 2023 but has since stalled, including due to a required assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act.

In early 2023 a 50 per cent stake in the project was bought by Australia-based Tilt Renewables, which took over the share from the European-based energy group Siemens.

Nine renewable projects Australia-wide are owned by Tilt including the Dundonnell Wind Farm at Victoria and the Coopers Gap Wind Farm in the South Burnett and Western Downs regions.

A public presentation by Forest Wind at the end of 2023 revealed the company is still working to address additional information requested by the federal Department of Environment.

These included further details on how the project will address its approach to the protection of threatened and migratory species.

The transmission lines required to connect the wind farm to the Woolooga substation could pose a problem, too.

Forest Wind says the lines’ length would run about 65km, starting from its northern tip in the forest before bending south and crossing the Bruce Hwy.

The exact route is still under investigation.

Transmission lines required to connect a planned $14 billion pumped hydro plant at Borumba Dam have met with fierce backlash from communities who have found themselves in its path, proposed to run west to near Kilkivan before returning to Woolooga.