Australia’s largest publicly owned wind farm, Tarong West, has received the final tick to go ahead after gaining federal environmental approval.
The 436.5MW Tarong West Wind Farm will comprise 97 wind turbines across 19,000 hectares of farmland in Queensland’s South Burnett region to provide power to 230,000 homes.
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The project, developed by renewables company RES, is optioned to be 100% owned by the Queensland government owned generator Stanwell Corp following a $776 million underwriting promise sealed in the last days of the former Labor government.
In a statement published on Saturday, RES said the wind project had achieved key milestones, including Development Approval from the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA), and grid connection letters from AEMO and Powerlink Queensland.
The project’s federal approval through the EPBC Act is subject to a number of conditions, including limits on endangered species’ habitats such as koalas, the grey-haired flying fox, and the south-eastern glossy black cockatoo.
RES must also outline how it will measure, monitor, and reduce the risk of harm to listed bird and bat species—including by collision with wind turbines—through the submission of a Bird and Bat Management Plan (BBMP) to the federal environment minister at least 12 months prior to commissioning.
“This progress reflects another important step toward delivering a high-impact renewable energy asset for Queensland,” RES said in a LinkedIn post.
“We extend our appreciation to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for their thorough engagement and support throughout the EPBC assessment process.
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“With approvals now in place, we look forward to advancing toward construction in late 2026 and further supporting Queensland’s Energy Road Map.”
The wind farm, which first received state government approvals in August 2024, also faces conditions of providing an accommodation strategy for workers to ensure housing supply in the region is not adversely affected.
