ACCIONA partners with Korea Zinc to build 923 MW Wind farm in Australia

ACCIONA and international metals group Korea Zinc Co. have reached an agreement to jointly develop the Macintyre Wind Farm in Queensland (923MW), one of the largest renewable energy projects in Australia, and the largest energy project in ACCIONA’s portfolio.

Under the agreement Ark Energy, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc Co., will take a 30% stake in Macintyre Wind Farm, with ACCIONA retaining 70%. ACCIONA will remain responsible for managing the project through its development, construction, operations and maintenance stages.

ACCIONA has secured a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with CleanCo, Queensland’s newest public electricity company, which will acquire the annual production from 400MW of ACCIONA's facilities for ten years. MacIntyre Wind Farm will also power Sun Metals Corporation, a Korea Zinc Co. subsidiary in Australia

In addition to the MacIntyre Wind Farm, ACCIONA will build the Karara Wind Farm (103MW), owned by CleanCo. The wind farms are adjacent to each other. The two projects will jointly mobilize investments of around AU$2 billion (USD1.53 billion), generate up to 400 jobs during throughout their useful lives and provide an important economic boost to the local community, with local investment exceeding AU$500 million (USD383.69 million). 

Construction is slated to start in the second half of this year, with the lion’s share of investment in 2022 and 2023. The wind farm complex will start operating in stages to ensure connection to the grid with full technical guarantees for the state electricity system. The complex will be fully operational by 2024.