MacIntyre Wind Farm succeeds in quest to produce renewable energy to power Queensland homes

A controversial wind farm project in southwest Queensland has taken a major leap forward, announcing 27 of 162 turbines have begun producing renewable energy to help power the state. Find out when the project will be fully operational here.

A billion-dollar renewable energy project in the state’s southwest, the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere which has continuously kept a bee in the bonnet of surrounding landholders, has announced it will start producing power to the national electricity grid in October.

Acciona Energia’s 923 megawatt MacIntyre Wind Farm, located in the Southern Downs between Warwick and Inglewood, has now connected 27 of 162 turbines to the national power grid.

The $2bn project is set to begin powering Queensland homes from this month and will be the first in the nation to begin producing renewable power.

Acciona Energia managing director Brett Wickham said in a press release once the wind farm was fully operational it would have the capability to generate enough renewable energy to power more than 600,000 homes.

Acciona Energia’s MacIntyre Wind Farm in southwestern Queensland. Picture:, Supplied by Acciona

“(Friday) marks a significant milestone for Australia’s diversification of its energy sources with the southern hemisphere’s largest operating wind farm now generating renewable energy,’’ he said in a statement.

The wind farm will progressively connect the remaining turbines over the next 12 months and is expecting another 27 to be exporting energy by this Christmas.

MacIntyre is a joint venture between Acciona Energia and Ark Energy, and is intending to use part of its share of the wind farm’s generation to support its sister company Sun Metals Corporation and the Townsville refinery’s decarbonisation plans.

The MacIntyre Wind Farm will also support other commercial energy users in infrastructure, resources, retail and transport decarbonise their operations through two PPA agreements with Queensland government owned enterprises Stanwell Corporation and CleanCo, totalling 550MW.

Joining the MacIntyre Wind Precinct, the proposed 160 turbine Herries Range Wind Farm is now in late-stage development and is understood to hold the capacity to power a further 700,000 homes.

Acciona Energia’s 923 megawatt MacIntyre Wind Farm located in the Southern Downs has now connected 27 of 162 turbines to the national power grid: Supplied by Acciona

Located northwest of MacIntyre at Gore, the Herries Range project will generate up to 600 jobs during peak construction and is expected to be complete by 2027/28.

The combined wind precinct is expected to generate around two gigawatts of renewable energy – enough to power the equivalent of more than a million homes.

MacIntyre Wind Farm director of engineering and construction told News Corp in December last year the project had faced its fair share of challenges, encountering a slight setback in the operation time frame due to initial delivery disruptions during Covid-19 restrictions.

To date more than four million work hours have been undertaken on the MacIntyre Wind Farm project, contributing to $680m in labour, services and materials procured across the state during constructions and is projected to be fully operational in quarter three of 2025.

Originally published as MacIntyre Wind Farm succeeds in quest to produce renewable energy to power Queensland homes