THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 5 July 2024
New wind farm in Upper Hunter to power over 170,000 homes
The Albanese Government has approved a new wind farm in NSW which will generate enough energy to power 172,600 homes.
The 347 megawatt Bowmans Creek Wind Farm is located around 10km east of Muswellbrook and includes the construction of 54 wind turbines which will connect to existing transmission infrastructure at the Liddell substation.
This is another big step in the Government’s plan to make Australia a renewable energy superpower.
Australians saw how a decade of political fights stopped action on climate change.
Under the Liberals and Nationals, 24 coal fired power plants with a total capacity of 26.7 GW announced their closure dates, but the previous government failed to deliver any policy to ensure replacement energy capacity.
At the last election, Australians voted for progress on renewables. That’s exactly what Labor has delivered.
The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions almost a million tonnes per annum, equivalent to taking more than 300,000 cars off the road for a year.
We know projects like this are vital to boosting renewables, but they are also great for local jobs and economies. This project will support up to 156 direct jobs in construction and up to 15 ongoing operational jobs.
The approval comes with strict conditions to protect nature including the Regent Honeyeater, Swift Parrot, and Koala.
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP:
“We want to unlock Australia’s potential to be a world leader in renewable energy. I’ve now ticked off 55 renewable energy projects which will power over 3 million homes.
“And we have record numbers of renewables projects in the approval pipeline.
“Under Labor, we’ve already seen a 25 per cent increase in renewable energy in our grid. Our plan will deliver cheaper power bills and cleaner energy for all Australians.
“Peter Dutton’s anti-renewables obsession ignores the fact that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. His nuclear fantasy will mean Australians pay higher taxes and higher power bills.”
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