North Queensland council provides approval for 1 GW multi-stage solar farm

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Cambridge JMD Australia, the renewables arm of Singapore-based fund manager Cambridge RE Partners, has had its plans to construct a 1,065 MW solar farm at Upper Haughton in Queensland’s north approved by the Burdekin Shire Council.

Cambridge plans to build the estimated $2.4 billion (USD 1.61 billion) project in three stages, the first of which would comprise 300 MW of solar along with a substation and associated infrastructure. The second stage is to deliver a 205 MW solar facility with the third stage to deliver an additional 560 MW of solar.

The proposed solar farm is planned for 1,500 hectares of former sugarcane farming land at Upper Haughton, about 60 kilometres southeast of Townsville.

Cambridge said the site, which adjoins Blue Pacific’s existing 100 MW Haughton Solar Farm which commenced operations in 2019, was selected for its optimal solar capacity and convenient access to existing electricity transmission networks.

Studies by Pacific Blue identified the region has one of the highest levels of solar irradiance in Australia, receiving 2,095 KWh/m² per annum.

It is expected the Cambridge Solar Farm will connect to the electricity grid via network operator Powerlink’s existing 275 kV powerline that is adjacent to the site. Cambridge said it has commenced formal discussions with Powerlink and a grid connection application for the first stage of the project is expected to be approved in Q2 2025.

Site works for the first stage of the Cambridge Solar Farm are expected to start in late 2025, with the first phase of solar panels to be installed and connected over a 12-month period for commissioning targeted in late 2026. Construction of the following stages is anticipated to continue through until 2031.

The council green light comes just weeks after the federal government granted the project the environmental approval.

Cambridge said once the proposed solar farm is complete and operational, it has the potential to deliver an extra 1,869 MWp of renewable energy to Australia.

In addition, the project is expected to generate 400 direct and 935 indirect jobs over the six- year development period and once complete, will generate ongoing Gross State Product of $26.5 million per annum.

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