In a strategic move towards a sustainable future, state-owned energy company Stanwell Corporation and global renewable energy leader RWE have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The collaboration aims to support the development of Stanwell's 9-10GW renewable energy pipeline, starting with two new RWE wind farm projects in central and southern Queensland by 2029.
This partnership signals the commitment of large energy users such as Arnott's Biscuits and Anglo American to meet their decarbonisation targets, and is in line with the Palaszczuk Government's goal of maintaining public ownership of electricity generation and using renewable resources to decarbonise Queensland.
The MoU outlines the development of the potential Theodore Wind Farm, a 1,100 MW project near Biloela, and a second wind farm of up to 720 MW in South Queensland. The partnership will facilitate negotiations on public ownership, equity and offtake models.
The Theodore project benefits from the robust state-owned grid infrastructure in the Biloela region, a key renewable energy zone in Queensland. These developments contribute to the Palaszczuk Government's 80% renewable energy target by 2035 and support Stanwell's commitment to build a renewable energy portfolio of 9-10GW of generation and 3-3.5GW of storage by 2035.
The proposed Theodore Wind Farm is expected to power approximately 410,000 homes and create up to 500 jobs during peak construction, with an additional 50 permanent jobs during its 35-year operation. Both projects are expected to be completed by 2029.