Document details potential impacts of proposed Theodore Wind Farm

New documents reveal the potential environmental impacts of building a new 170-turbine ‘green energy’ wind farm near a Queensland country town and how many homes would be powered as a result.

A new wind farm has been proposed for Theodore. Picture: Dominic Elsome

A Central Queensland country town could soon be home to a 170-turbine wind farm, with documents lodged with the Federal Government detailing what the project could look like.

Included in the documents, which are now before the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water are the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction of the proposed Theodore Wind Farm.

The plans are open for public comment through the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

They were submitted on behalf of Theodore Energy Development Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RWE Renewables Europe and Australia.

According to the documents, the Theodore Wind Farm would consist of up to 170 turbines with a tip height of 270 metres and a rotor diameter of 175 metres.

The wind farm would be built about 22 kilometres east of the Theodore and 50km south of Biloela.

According to the RWE website the project would generate enough electricity to power about 410,000 Queensland homes, which is equivalent to powering all private dwellings in the Banana Shire close to 57 times, or the city of Rockhampton more than 15 times.

The company says it’s “committed” to prioritising the use of regional Queensland businesses and employees wherever possible throughout the development, with construction of the wind farm expected to take up to four years with a workforce of 500 people at peak periods.

The “investigation area” of the project is a total of about 46,000 hectares, with the wind farm’s actual footprint to occupy less than three per cent of that area.

As well as the wind turbines, the project site will have ancillary infrastructure including temporary construction offices, parking and accommodation camp, concrete batching plants and lay down areas.

The wind farm would also include battery energy storage systems, meteorological masts and operations and maintenance facilities.

According to the proposal document the wind farm would have a life of up to 35 years, with the decommissioning of the wind farm to include the dismantling of the turbines, “responsible disposal/recycling/reuse” of infrastructure removed from the site according to the “waste hierarchy” and rehabilitation of the land in according with good practice at the time and where not required for ongoing grazing and agricultural uses.

The document says vegetation clearing would need to occur for things such as new access tracks, wind turbine pads and temporary construction compounds.

“The clearing of vegetation may result in a direct impact to MNES (matters of national environmental significance) through the removal of habitat, direct impacts on flora and fauna, and the disruption of ecological processes,” the document says.

“Excavating trenches requires the clearing of vegetation and disruption of soil structure, which may impact vegetation and geological stability and acoustic disturbance, potentially impacting MNES.

“Construction traffic movements and plant operations (rock crushing and concrete batching plants) may result in collisions with fauna, acoustic disturbance, habitat destruction and localised air pollution, potentially impacting MNES.”

The document also states there could be potential bird and bat collision risks once the wind turbines are operational.

Initial operations for the wind farm are targeted to begin in 2027.

Public comment on the document is open until June 25 and can be viewed on the EPBC Act Public Portal website.