Acciona Energia has announced that construction of its $500 million (USD 330 million) Aldoga Solar Farm has begun in earnest with approximately 820,000 solar modules to be installed at the central Queensland site.
It is anticipated the facility, being developed about 20 kilometres northwest of Gladstone, will be operational by mid-2026 with Queensland Regional Development Minister Glenn Butcher saying the project will kickstart central Queensland’s renewable energy industry and help the area’s existing industries decarbonise their operations.
“We’ve always known Gladstone was crucial for energy production and industry in Queensland, now this project proves this region is well and truly driving the renewables sector here in Queensland,” he said.
“This builds on other major local projects like the Central Queensland Hydrogen project and Fortescue Future Industries’ hydrogen manufacturing facility.”
Butcher said he expects the solar farm will “increase renewable energy supply, generate jobs and support economic growth in central Queensland for years to come.”
Acciona Managing Director Brett Wickham said the project will create up to 350 jobs during the 18-month construction phase and inject $150 million back into the local economy.
The project is the first to use trackers supplied by United States-headquartered Nextracker featuring torque tubing manufactured by Orrcon at its recently opened production facility near Brisbane.
“Projects like Aldoga will help transition our energy system while providing the employment, training and procurement opportunities regional communities are asking for so they can take advantage of this booming industry,” Wickham said.
All the energy generated by the Aldoga Solar Farm is linked to a 15-year power purchase agreement with Queensland’s publicly owned energy company Stanwell Corporation.
Stanwell plans to use the entire output of the PV plant to help power the proposed Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub (CQ-H2) project which would initially involve the installation of up to 640 MW of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen for domestic use and export.
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