Coopers Gap Wind Farm


Coopers Gap Wind Farm is a 453 megawatt wind power station in the Bilboa and Cooranga North region, of Australia, approximately 50 kilometres south-west of Kingaroy and 65 km north of Dalby in Queensland, Australia.
A 60-metre wind-monitoring mast was installed in March 2006 in order to accurately measure wind speed and direction in the area.

Site

The location for the wind farm is a hilly area to the west of the Bunya Mountains. The site area lies to the north and south of Niagara Road, starting approximately 3 km from the Bunya Highway, as well as to the west of Jarail Road. The site extends to Crowles Road to the south, Cooranga North-Niagara Road to the west, close to Nords Road and Diamondy Road to the North and close to Bunya Highway to the east.
The area is mostly cleared, cattle-grazing country and covers approximately in total. The project falls within both the South Burnett Regional Council and Western Downs Regional Council jurisdictions.

Project

Coopers Gap Wind Farm is the largest in Australia with a total generation capacity of up to and annually, 1.51 million megawatt hours of energy. The wind farm consists of 123 turbines extending across a series of ridge lines within the site. The wind turbines are approximately in height from the tower base to the tip of the blade. The tower will be approximately high, and the blades approximately in length with a rotor diameter of. The construction costs of the project were initially to be over $1.2 billion. However the project was revised to include 115 turbines and only cost A$800 million.
The electricity generated from each turbine is transmitted via underground or above ground cabling to a central cable marshalling point at the on site substation, which is located next to the 220 kV or 132 kV power lines that run through the site area. The sub station then connects directly into the grid network on site. It is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 2.2 million tonnes annually.
In April 2011, some local landholders expressed concerns at a community forum related to health effects and the noise of the wind turbines, some of which will be less than a kilometre from homes.
In March 2017, the project was approved by the Coordinator-General. The approved project consists of up to 115 turbines, with a maximum tip height of 180m, and a maximum rotor diameter of 140m.
The first turbine generated electricity to the grid on 24 June 2019. An emergency services drill was conducted involving someone having broken into the tower and occupied the turbine and threatening further harm to themselves and the equipment.