First turbine installed at Clarke Creek Wind Farm

The turbine, which stands at 207 metres tall and has three 76.2 metre blades, involved the installation of 13 components and has a capacity of 4.5MW.

The 450MW first stage wind farm in Central Queensland, 150km north-west of Rockhampton and 150km south of Mackay, will produce enough electricity to power 330,000 homes when completed.

Squadron Energy CEO Jason Willoughby said: “We are excited to have reached this important milestone in the development of our project.”

“This turbine represents the first major step in our efforts to reduce power prices for businesses and households in Queensland as we continue to replace ageing coal-fired power stations with clean renewable energy.

“Seeing the first turbine of the project fully installed is a really proud moment for our team at Squadron Energy and all the crews involved.

“We currently have around 170 workers on site at any one time and our oversize over mass deliveries from Gladstone Port are now in place seven nights a week as activity ramps up on site.”

Squadron Energy has committed to prioritising Queensland businesses as part of a 15-year offtake agreement with Queensland Government-owned power company Stanwell Corporation.

Stanwell will take 346.5MW of renewable energy capacity from the wind farm to sell to commercial and industrial customers.

The first stage of Clarke Creek Wind Farm has created 350 jobs during construction and is injecting $110 million into the regional economy.

The second stage wind farm includes 564MW of capacity and a battery energy storage facility in addition to a planned 400MW (AC) Clarke Creek Solar Farm.