Wambo Wind Project, Australia

The Wambo Wind Project in Queensland, Australia, comprises two wind farms with a combined capacity of more than 500MW.

The onshore project is being developed by an equally owned joint venture of renewable energy sector investor Cubico Sustainable Investments and Queensland Government-owned electricity generator Stanwell.

In June 2023, the construction works for Stage I (252MW) of the wind project began with a ground-breaking ceremony. It is expected to commence operations in 2025.

Wambo Wind Stage 2 (254MW) is slated for completion a year later in 2026.

The development of the two wind farms will support Queensland’s sustainability goal as it seeks to source 80% of its electricity requirements from renewable energy by 2035.

Wambo Wind Project Location

The Wambo Wind Project is located in Western Downs region in south-west Queensland. The site is around 20km north-east of Jandowae.

The site was selected due to the availability of wind resources and its proximity to grid connectivity. It is also near the Tarong coal-fired power station and the large electrical loads in Southeast Queensland.

Western Wakka Wakka and Barunggam Peoples are the traditional custodians of the land where the wind farm is being built.

The project site, spread across 12,500 hectares, is primarily used for cattle grazing.

Wambo Wind Project Background

Initially, the wind farm was announced by Renewable Energy Partners (REP) in 2018.

REP and Cubico Sustainable Investments agreed to jointly develop the project in 2019. After completion, Cubico is expected to become the long-term owner and operator of the Wambo Wind Farm.

Development works for the project began in November 2019 with the ecological field investigation.

In October 2020, the Queensland government granted planning approval for a 500MW wind farm along with a 50MW/200MWh battery storage and associated infrastructure at the site.

The project secured approval from the federal government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 in January 2022.

In March 2022, Cubico formed the joint venture with Stanwell to deliver the Wambo Wind Farm.

The second stage of the wind project was approved by the Queensland Government in February 2024.

Financing Details

In December 2024, Cubico achieved financial close for the Wambo Stage I and Stage II wind farms after securing two separate five-year project finance facilities with a combined worth of A$650m ($406.33m).

The financing was provided by a consortium of financial institutions consisting of ANZ, Crédit Agricole, ING, NAB, and Westpac.

In 2022, the project received A$193m allocation from the Queensland Government. The fund was awarded from the Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund.

Wambo Wind Project Details

The first stage of Wambo wind farm will feature 42 wind turbines for a total capacity of 252MW. The second stage will generate additional 254MW clean energy using 41 wind turbines.

Wind turbine components will be transported to the site from the Port of Brisbane via Diamondy, a locality in the Western Downs Region.

During the construction stage, the project will create up to 200 jobs. It would employ up to eight people during maintenance and operations.

Once operational, the two stages will deliver more than 500MW of renewable energy, enough to power more than 312,000 homes annually.

The electricity generated by Wambo Stage I will be fed into the Queensland SuperGrid and to the 2GW Borumba pumped hydro project in west of the Sunshine Coast in southern Queensland expected to be commissioned in 2032.

Stanwell and Cubico have engaged state-owned electricity transmission system operator Powerlink Queensland to connect the wind farms to the Queensland transmission network.

A nearly 47km-long double circuit 275kV transmission line will be constructed between a new substation at Diamondy on the Wambo Wind Farm site and Powerlink’s existing Halys Substation, located 11km south-east of Kumbia township.

Contractors Involved

Denmark-based Vestas has been contracted to supply 83 turbines- 42 turbines in Stage One and 41 turbines in Stage Two. Each turbine will be 247m tall.

Wambo Stage I will feature 42 Vestas V162 6.2MW wind turbines. These turbines have a rotor diameter of 162m with a swept area of 20,612m².