Inside ZEN Energy’s plans for Hookey Creek solar farm at Lower Wonga

A new renewable energy hub capable of powering up to 40,000 homes is one step closer to reality but these are the hoops that still need to be jumped through.

A new renewable energy hub capable of powering up to 40,000 homes is one step closer to reality - but it still needs to jump through several more hoops before being given the all clear.

A new renewable energy hub capable of powering up to 40,000 homes is one step closer to reality – but it still needs to jump through several more hoops before being given the final all clear.

Nationwide developer ZEN Energy Future is planning to build the Hookey Creek Solar Farm on 263ha at Lower Wonga, about 30km northeast of Gympie.

ZEN Energy wants to build the project is adjacent to the existing Lower Wonga Solar Farm on the Wide Bay Highway, across the road from the Woolooga substation.

The plans include building a 100MegaWatt solar farm and 200MegaWatt battery for storage.

The batteries would be able to last up to eight hours.

The land was bought by company Dudley Fionnog Pty Ltd in July 2021 for $2.6 million, RP Data records show.

A new renewable energy hub capable of powering up to 40,000 homes is one step closer to reality – but it still needs to jump through several more hoops before being given the all clear.

On Wednesday the federal Labor government announced it had given the project its approval to go ahead, a decision it said was made in “just 17 days”.

“This was made possible because the 267-hectare project site was designed so its environmental impacts were minimised,” federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said in the statement.

“It will be located on predominantly cleared land, so there’s an option for agricultural use on the site, including sheep grazing through the solar array, demonstrating once again that there’s ways for renewables and agriculture to work together.”

Mr Watt said in the announcement the project would support more than 260 jobs.

The initial timeline is for construction on the solar farm to begin in 2027.

The developer hopes to have the solar farm running by 2029.

Gympie Regional Council has been contacted seeking more details on what stage the development process is at, with the developer’s May 2025 referral under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act saying an application “will be lodged to Gympie Regional Council and assessed under the planning scheme for approval”.

No application has been lodged with the council at this time.