MacIntyre Wind Farm Exports Energy! – CleanTechnica – TechnoNews

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Queensland is understood in Australia because the Sunshine State, and rightly so. Right now, on a Sunday afternoon, the state is producing about 50% of its electrical energy from sunshine — pure yellow stuff. The place it has fallen down within the renewable transition is using its huge land space to put in wind farms and produce electrical energy when the solar isn’t shining. It’s presently producing solely 129 MW from this useful resource. That’s about to vary.

CleanTechnica readers have listened to me lament through the years that there’s not sufficient wind feeding energy into Australia’s grid. They could have adopted the event of the MacIntyre Wind Precinct impatiently ready for the promise of energy from the air. That point has come.

One reader even known as Queensland a shame within the wind energy world, quoting figures at the moment (2 years in the past) — 4GW put in in Victoria, 2.3 GW in South Australia, 2.2 GW in New South Wales, and 675 MW in Queensland — solely 100 MW greater than Tasmania. “Queensland is an absolute disgrace in wind power.”

The excellent news is that scenario has now modified dramatically. A latest announcement from proprietor and operator Acciona Energia informs us that the MacIntyre Wind Farm has commenced producing clear, inexperienced electrical energy and feeding into the Queensland and nationwide grid. MacIntyre, at 923 megawatts, is the most important working wind farm within the Southern Hemisphere.

Twenty-seven of the anticipated whole 162 generators have been linked to the power grid. Power exports to the grid will progressively ramp up all through quarter 4 of 2024, and the farm will probably be absolutely operational by the third quarter of 2025. The MacIntyre Wind Farm is a part of the higher MacIntyre Wind Precinct, comprising the MacIntyre Wind Farm and the proposed Herries Vary Wind Farm (1 GW capability from 180 generators), which is in late-stage growth. It’s positioned in southwestern Queensland, not removed from the historic city of Warwick on the Darling Downs.

Acciona established its social licence early within the growth and averted the neighborhood backlash that arose when a photo voltaic farm was constructed nearer to the city. Robust financial ties had been established with native communities. In addition they short-circuited a few of the arguments towards farming land getting used for power manufacturing by persevering with to make use of the land as a working sheep farm. No sheep had been harmed within the constructing and operation of MacIntyre.

The MacIntyre Wind Farm is hosted by landowners unfold throughout its 36,000 hectares (about 90,000 acres). These farms are stocked with sheep, goats, and a few cattle. The co-location with wind generators has triggered no dangerous results and is proving to be a hit. Not solely that, however these farmers concerned see it as a monetary lifeline.

“Income diversification is critical for long-term survival in Australian agriculture,” Brent Finlay, as soon as president of the Nationwide Farmers’ Federation, says. “What we hear in the predictions are larger droughts, longer droughts, deeper droughts into the future.”

In line with The Guardian, “The deal struck by the group of landowners and the windfarm’s developer, Spanish renewable energy giant Acciona, is confidential, but lobby group Farmers for Climate Action has said annual payments to farmers average $40,000 a turbine. That estimate would put total compensation, shared between the 10 landowners, at $162m over the project’s 25-year lease agreement. It is a potentially significant additional income alongside earnings from their wool and meat operations that can coexist with turbines humming overhead.”

Though farmers internet hosting the wind generators and native companies are overwhelmingly optimistic concerning the large mission, some on neighbouring farms aren’t. There’s concern a few discount in land values as a consequence of the truth that despite the fact that they’re 5 km away, they will nonetheless see the generators from their home block. It’s a worry of the unknown. Thus far, these penalties haven’t materialised.

Acciona Energia Managing Director Brett Wickham introduced the next: “Today 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. When the MacIntyre Wind Farm is fully operational, it will generate enough renewable energy to power more than 600,000 homes and double Queensland’s wind energy generation.”

The finished precinct is predicted to supply roughly 2 GW of renewable power — sufficient to energy the equal of greater than one million properties. The output from all sources of power manufacturing for Queensland stands at 8 GW. It is a large enchancment on what’s presently out there and a sign of the place Australia’s power market goes regardless of the protestations and deceptive feedback of conservative politicians who’re attempting to advertise nuclear energy. Though it looks like now we have been ready a very long time for this wind farm to turn into operational, it’s a lot quicker than constructing a nuclear energy station.

One other batch of 27 generators ought to be exporting energy by this Christmas. No lump of coal from Santa this 12 months, simply energy from the wind. The MacIntyre Wind Farm is a joint-venture between Acciona Energia and Ark Power, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc.

“Ark Energy will use some of the generation from its share in the MacIntyre Wind Farm to support its sister company, Sun Metals Corporation and the Townsville refinery’s decarbonisation plans. Sun Metals aims to be the world’s first producer of green zinc. It was the first major refiner to sign up to the RE100 initiative and has committed to powering its operations from 100% renewable sources by 2040. Generation from MacIntyre Wind Farm is an exciting milestone for Ark Energy and Sun Metals. It will help to further decarbonise the Sun Metals refinery and achieve a real step-change in progress towards its RE100 commitment,” mentioned Ark Power CEO Michael Choi.  Australia is the third largest zinc exporter on the planet.

“Decarbonising industry and producing green metals will also put Sun Metals, and Queensland and Australia’s metal exports, at a significant competitive advantage internationally.”

Solar Metals is the second largest single-site client of electrical energy in Queensland. Its give attention to being each environmentally accountable and aggressive has led to its purpose “to become the first refinery in the world to produce green zinc. By use of the term ‘green zinc’ we mean made entirely from renewable energy. The company is committed to power its entire operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2040, with an interim target of 80% by 2030.” The MacIntyre Wind Farm is a step ahead in assembly these targets.

Different business prospects for MacIntyre’s wind power embrace the Queensland government-owned enterprises Stanwell Company and CleanCo. They’re anticipated to make use of 550 MW. This may movement by means of the grid to assist decarbonise infrastructure, sources, retail, and transport.

“Major projects such as the MacIntyre Wind Farm will make a material contribution to decarbonising Queensland’s energy consumption, particularly in hard-to-abate industrial sectors,’’ Mr Wickham said. “Helping large industrial and commercial energy users to decarbonise supports these important industries to stay in Australia.”

Throughout its development, the MacIntyre Wind Farm mission procured greater than $680 million in labour, providers, and supplies. Greater than 4 million work hours have been accomplished on the mission thus far. Greater than 1,000 folks labored on the mission on its busiest day. Locals from the Darling Downs area comprised over a 3rd of the workforce. On a median day, between 400–450 folks had been concerned within the development.

“The construction of the MacIntyre Wind Farm has created significant economic activity across Queensland, creating jobs and procurement opportunities for large and small businesses alike,” Mr Wickham mentioned. “From concreters to caterers, now we have sourced greater than $115 million in work and providers from greater than 80 companies in and across the Darling Downs area and employed lots of of native staff.’’ When absolutely operational, the mission will make use of between 35–40 folks on web site.

On the Darling Downs, the longer term appears shiny, electrical and windy!