The Golden Plains wind farm in Victoria has reached the 1 GW output mark, but it's not the only wind project facing challenges in Australia. The TagEnergy project in Queensland, initially planned as the country's largest wind farm at 1.026 GW, has encountered significant setbacks. Delays from COVID and supply constraints were followed by a reduction to 923 MW due to partner CleanCo's withdrawal, citing high costs and delays. The project's commissioning process is currently stuck at the halfway point, with output capped at around 450 MW, and repairs and replacements are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The issues with the TagEnergy project highlight the challenges wind energy faces in Australia, including rising costs, social licence, planning issues, and grid access. However, there are signs of progress in the sector. Smaller wind projects, such as Delburn in Victoria, Carmody's Hill and Palmer in South Australia, and Waddi in Western Australia, have reached financial close and are starting or about to start construction. Additionally, several new gigawatt-scale projects are on the horizon, including the 1.4 GW Bungaban project in Queensland, which has a contract to supply Rio Tinto's Gladstone smelters and refineries.
Queensland is considered an excellent resource for wind energy due to its generation profile, which complements the output of wind projects in the south of the country. Acciona, the company behind the TagEnergy project, has plans to eventually double the size of the MacIntyre wind project to 2 GW, creating what it calls the "Big Mac". However, the future of renewables in Queensland is uncertain due to the LNP's scrapping of the renewable energy target and its commitment to burning coal into the 2050s.
In New South Wales, Origin is seeking investors for its 1.45 GW Yanco Delta project, while Tilt Renewables is considering options for its gigawatt-scale Liverpool Plains wind project. The challenges faced by these projects underscore the ongoing hurdles in the renewable energy sector, despite the progress made in smaller-scale projects and the potential for future expansion.
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