One of the largest wind projects in Queensland has won a 20-year power purchase agreement with the government-owned CleanCo, marking a rare win for the beleaguered industry in a state that has abandoned its renewable energy targets and “called in” a number of major projects.
The PPA for the 600 megawatt (MW) Jackson North wind project in the Western Downs region is, in fact, the first PPA written since the LNP government was elected in 2024, and then promptly ripped up the state’s renewable energy target and released its own energy roadmap.
The deal is a major win for GreenPoint Energy, a newly launched subsidiary of Equis, and one of two wind projects it is hoping to build in Australia. The project is also likely to include its own battery, possibly sized at around 200 MW.
According to Rystad Energy, the Jackson North deal is the biggest wind PPA written by a government owned entity in Australia and bettered only by the PPA written by Rio Tinto for Windlab’s 1.4 GW Bungaban wind project, one of a number of projects signed up to feed the giant aluminium smelters in Gladstone.
The LNP government’s energy roadmap envisaged little or no new wind and solar projects – other than those signed up to support Rio Tinto’s Gladstone transition – so this seems to be a major deal and a step forward for the state, which remains the most dependent on coal generation in the country.
