Mount Emerald Wind Farm

As Queensland’s largest wind farm at the time, Mount Emerald set several benchmarks when it began generating power in late 2018.

Producing an average of 500 GWh of safe, clean, renewable electricity each year, the wind farm helps avoid 275,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually throughout its operational life.

Located on a plateau approximately two kilometres north of the landmark Mount Emerald—which stands 1,122 metres above sea level. The wind farm site itself sits at an elevation of around 900 metres, presenting significant development challenges.

To suit the site’s unique conditions, two types of wind turbines were installed:

• 37 turbines with a 3.45 MW capacity, each reaching 148.5 metres to the blade tip
• 16 turbines with a 3.3 MW capacity, each standing 140 metres tall to the blade tip.

The turbines are carefully positioned away from known Northern Quoll habitats and prominent ridgelines to reduce both environmental and cultural heritage impacts. A seed bank, established on the adjacent 435-hectare site, supports our environmental and biodiversity offset management efforts.

The operational footprint of the wind farm occupies just 0.03% of the total 2,400-hectare site and includes:

• 35 km of new site roads, constructed to transport turbines from Cairns, provide access for maintenance throughout the turbines’ working lives, and support decommissioning in the future
• a substation that connects the generated power to the local National Electricity Market, and
• a control room and facilities for operations and maintenance staff.