Developer EE Australia reveals plans for Coonambula solar farm

The North Burnett has been revealed as the planned home for a new renewable energy hub, with developers saying it will create more than 1000 jobs during construction, injecting millions into the region.

A European-based renewable energy company is laying plans to transform more than 1000ha of cattle grazing land in the North Burnett into a major solar farm development.

A European-based renewable energy company is laying plans to transform more than 1000ha of cattle grazing land in the North Burnett into a major solar farm development.

Developers EE Australia have lodged plans with the North Burnett Regional Council to build the Tiboca Solar Farm on a 5719ha property Coonambula, about 158km west of Bundaberg and 33km west of Mundubbera.

Its proposal includes building a new electrical substation and battery on the land to operate alongside the solar farm, with the entire project having the capacity to produce 484 Megawatts of electricity.

The solar farm would occupy about one quarter of the site at its southeastern end, at the corner of Cheltenham Rd and Coonambula Rd.

It is proposed to be built in two stages, with the substation the first piece to be delivered.

Developers EE Australia have lodged plans with the North Burnett Regional Council to build the Tiboca Solar Farm on a 5719ha property Coonambula, about 158km west of Bundaberg and 33km west of Mundubbera.

EE Australia said there would be up to 10 maintenance staff working at the site on any given day once it was running.

It would be connected to the grid through an electrical easement already running across the land, the development application says.

Construction would be expected to take about two years if the solar farm was approved.

The application said the project was expected to create 1200 jobs during construction and generate more than $200 million in local spending.

Another $10 million would be invested in local housing in line with the regional council’s Master Projects policy.

The solar farm itself would only occupy about one quarter of the site at its southeastern end, at the corner of Cheltenham Rd and Coonambula Rd.

EE Australia was exploring whether to build a stand-alone workers’ accommodation to avoid affecting the region’s “limited” rental market, the document says.

Once the solar farm reached its 30-year lifespan, a decision would be made on decommissioning or repowering it.
If it was decommissioned the land would be restored to “a standard appropriate for rural use”.

EE Australia said initial community response from the lone Eidsvold resident to attend an advertised community meeting was “positive”, whereas the reaction from the Coonambula community meeting which had three attendees was “mixed”.

The proposal is the latest in a series of renewable energy projects proposed across the Wide Bay Burnett region, including plans for a 1200ha solar farm between Monto and Eidsvold and the Munna Creek Solar Farm between Gympie and the Maryborough.

Originally published as Developer EE Australia reveals plans for Coonambula solar farm