New solar farm in Queensland to power 160,000 homes

The Albanese Government has approved a new solar farm in Queensland which will generate enough energy to power 160,000 homes.

The 350 megawatt Sixteen Mile Solar Farm is located around 22km south of Chinchilla and includes the construction of 579,660 solar panels and a 120MW battery storage system. The project will connect to the existing Western Downs Substation.

This approval marks another important milestone in the Government’s plan to make Australia a renewable energy superpower – we’ve now ticked off enough renewable energy projects to power the equivalent of over 7 million homes.

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 is delivering.

The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 650,000 tonnes per annum, which is equivalent to taking around 205,000 cars off the road for a year.

We know projects like this are vital to boosting renewables capacity and putting downward pressure on prices, but they are also great for local jobs and economies. This project will support up to 300 direct jobs in construction and up to 20 ongoing jobs.

Projects need to be placed in the right areas and designed so that their environmental impacts are minimised – as is the case with this project. No clearing of remnant vegetation is required for the project to proceed.

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

“Labor is getting on with the job of transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower while Peter Dutton and David Littleproud’s so called nuclear plan is threatening investment in renewables.

“I’ve ticked off more than 60 renewable energy projects in two years - enough to power 7 million Australian homes.

“David Littleproud must explain why he’s pushing a nuclear powered fantasy and not projects like this which are supporting hundreds of families in his own community.

“Australians have a choice between a renewable energy transition that’s already underway and driving down prices, or paying for an expensive nuclear fantasy that may never happen.”