Consultation opens on Kingaroy wind farm proposal

Community consultation on the proposed $500 million wind farm at Coopers Gap near Kingaroy, which promises up to 350 construction jobs, will open on Monday, 26 September.

Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham said comment opened on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project.

“Consultation is a very important part of the EIS process and I encourage people to take a look at the EIS and have their say.

“AGL Energy Limited proposes to build and operate a wind farm that could potentially supply power to an estimated 236,000 households from its installed capacity of up to 460 MW and up to 115 wind turbines.

“The project could create up to 350 construction jobs and ongoing employment for up to 20 people in the region,” Dr Lynham said.

Energy Minister Mark Bailey said the Coopers Gap wind farm consultation follows confirmation of ARENA support for six large-scale solar farms and an Ergon power purchase agreement for the 170MW Mount Emerald wind farm in far north Queensland. 

“Combined these projects would support more than 1000 construction jobs in large-scale renewables,” Mr Bailey said.

“We promised to establish a large-scale renewable energy industry in Queensland, to act on climate change while creating new jobs and diversifying our economy, and we are doing just that.”

The Coordinator-General has reviewed the draft EIS and has determined that it is satisfactory to release for comment.

The public are now invited to make a submission on whether the draft EIS adequately address the project’s terms of reference, including the project’s potential environmental impacts and the effectiveness of measures the proponent proposes to manage those impacts.

Public notices advising the commencement of the public consultation process will be placed in Saturday’s The Courier-Mail (24 September), and Dalby Herald (27 September) and South Burnett Times (27 September).

The draft EIS will be available for viewing at:

• Bell Library, Bell Bunya Community Centre, 71 Maxwell Street, Bell
• Blackbutt Library, 69 Hart Street, Blackbutt
• Chinchilla Library, 80-86 Heeney Street, Chinchilla
• Dalby Library, 107 Drayton Street, Dalby
• Jandowae Library, 22 George Street, Jandowae
• Kingaroy Library,41 Glendon Street, Kingaroy
• Nanango Library, 48 Drayton Street, Nanango
• Proston Library, 34 Blake Street, Proston
• State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, Cultural Centre, South Bank, Brisbane
• Wondai Library, 78 Mackenzie Street, Wondai.

The project was declared a co-ordinated project in June this year.

Terms of reference are available online and in local libraries. For more information visit www.dsd.qld.gov.au.

Public comment opens on Monday, September 26 and closes on November 7.

Media contact: Katharine Wright 0422 580 342