Korea Zinc is expected acquire a 30% stake in the wind farm
Acciona to build MacIntyre Wind Farm in Australia. (Credit: ACCIONA.)
Spanish infrastructure company Acciona has reached an agreement with Ark Energy, a subsidiary of international metals group Korea Zinc, to jointly develop the 923MW MacIntyre wind farm in Australia.
Under the agreement, Korea Zinc is expected acquire a 30% stake in the wind farm, while Acciona would retain the remaining 70%.
Also, Acciona would undertake the responsibility for managing the project through its development, construction, operations and maintenance stages.
Korea Zinc CEO Yun B Choi said: “We are very pleased to have established a long-term relationship to carry out this exciting project, unique in its size, which represents a major step forward for our respective businesses. Our participation in the MacIntyre project reflects our commitment to renewable energy in Australia”.
CleanCo, a new public electricity company in Queensland, has signed a 10-year long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) to purchase the annual production from 400MW of Acciona’s facilities.
The MacIntyre wind farm will also deliver electricity to Sun Metals, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc in Australia, to help the firm reach the target of obtaining 100% of energy from renewables by 2040.
Acciona would also build the 103MW Karara Wind Farm, which is owned by CleanCo and located adjacent to the MacIntyre wind facility.
Together, MacIntyre and Karara facilities are expected to generate enough clean electricity to power nearly 700,000 homes and eliminate around 3 million tonnes of CO2 emission per annum.
The two projects are anticipated to generate up to 400 jobs during their useful life times and economically boost the local community, through more than €325m local investment.
The projects, which are estimated to jointly mobilise investments of around $A2bn (€1.3bn), are expected to make a significant contribution to the State of Queensland’s goal of achieving a 50% share of renewable energy in its electricity consumption by 2030.
Construction of the wind farm complex is expected to commence in the second half of this year.
Acciona chairman and CEO José Manuel Entrecanales said: “Having Korean Zinc as a partner in this landmark project is a privilege and marks a milestone in MacIntyre’s development.
“Our companies share a common goal to pioneer clean energy and this partnership is the perfect example of how two companies from different sectors can work together to deliver flagship renewables infrastructure.”