The Albanese Government has approved a new wind farm in Central Queensland which will generate enough energy to power 240,000 Queensland homes.

The 400 megawatt Mount Hopeful Wind Farm, located 45km south of Rockhampton and 65km west of Gladstone, includes the construction of 63 wind turbines.

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 an end to the pointless arguments. That’s exactly what Labor has delivered.

The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 813,000 tonnes per annum, equivalent to taking around 225,000 passenger 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 220 direct jobs in construction and up to 12 ongoing jobs.

The approval under national environment law includes strict conditions to protect the southern and central greater glider, southern yellow-bellied glider, koala and northern quoll.

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP:

“Years of political fights over climate change have cost Australia big time. It meant emissions were higher for longer. It put renewable energy projects years behind.

“We want to unlock Australia’s potential to be a world leader in renewable energy. I’ve now ticked off 46 renewable energy projects which will power almost 3 million homes.

“And we have a record 130 renewables projects in the approval pipeline.

“This is an exciting time. As well as lower emissions, it means cheaper, cleaner power for all Australians.”