Clarke Creek wind and solar farm is a 1.2GW hybrid renewable energy project planned to be developed in the Isaac Regional Council, Queensland, Australia. Lacour Energy is the developer of the project.
The $1.6bn integrated renewable energy project comprises the development of an 800MW wind farm, up to 400MW of solar installations, and a battery energy storage facility.
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At 800MW, the Clarke Creek wind farm will be Australia’s biggest wind farm.
The project has received the required state and federal planning approvals and construction is expected to start in 2019, while operations are expected to begin in 2021.
The project is expected to generate more than 1,800GWh of electricity a year and offset approximately 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
The hybrid renewable energy hub is expected to generate more than 4% of the annual electricity output of Queensland.
Clarke Creek wind and solar project location and site details
The Clarke Creek wind and solar farm project is planned to be developed approximately 150km south of Mackay and 150km north of Rockhampton, in the Isaac Shire and Livingstone Shire regions in Central Queensland, Australia.
The wind turbines will be erected on the Broadsound mountain range that runs for 55km, while the solar farm as well as the battery storage facility will be developed on the lower ground near Marlborough-Sarina main road.
Clarke Creek wind farm details
The 800MW Clarke Creek wind farm will be developed with 195 advanced onshore wind turbines from Goldwind. The turbine foundations are estimated to require 12,000m³ of concrete pouring.
The electricity generated by the wind turbines will be transmitted to the onsite substation through 120km-long 33kV underground cables.
The project also involves the construction of 250km of access tracks, 1.1 million m² of hardstands, and an operations and maintenance (O&M) building.
Estimated to cost $1bn, the wind farm is expected to create approximately 350 construction jobs and 20 permanent jobs.
Clarke Creek solar farm details
The Clarke Creek solar farm will be developed with up to 400MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar panel installations on a flat site below the mountainous wind farm site.
The solar panels will be mounted on single-axis tracking systems for efficient solar power generation. The power generated by the solar farm will be fed into the nearby Powerlink 275kV transmission network.
The solar farm site will also host the proposed battery storage facility for the project.
Estimated to cost $600m, the solar farm is expected to create approximately 150 construction jobs and five permanent jobs.
Key players involved
Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind will supply 195 onshore wind turbines and manage the construction of the Clarke Creek wind farm.
