RES will continue its involvement in the project by providing asset management services alongside Octopus

Visualisation of Dulacca Wind Farm_RES(1)

Octopus Australia to buy Dulacca wind farm. (Credit: Renewable Energy Systems Ltd.)

Octopus, through its subsidiary Octopus Australia, has acquired the 180MW Dulacca wind farm in Queensland from UK-based renewable energy company RES.

The wind project is located 350km north-west of Brisbane within the Western Downs region, Queensland, and will co-exist alongside the agricultural use of the land.

Upon completion, the wind facility is anticipated to have 43 wind turbines to generate adequate electricity to power nearly 124,000 homes.

The project is expected to employ up to150 workers on its site, while 700 to 800 people are expected to directly support the construction for a period of two years.

Also, it is anticipated to create 5 to 10 permanent jobs during the project’s operational life of 30 years.

Octopus Australia managing director Sam Reynolds said: “Significant wind projects like Dulacca are key to helping decarbonise power generation in Australia.

“They follow our strategy of creating a diversified portfolio across location and technology that matches what the future of Australian energy should look like.

“In line with our B Corp certification, the community is at heart of everything we do, and we look forward to continuing the excellent work RES has done in the local area.”

RES said that it will continue its involvement in the project by providing asset management services alongside Octopus.

It will also deploy its Construction Management team to support the project delivery by managing the EPC and grid connection contracts throughout the AEMO registration process.

Octopus said that Dulacca is its fourth Australian renewable asset, adding to its projects in New South Wales, Victoria and now Queensland, after its foray into the market in 2018.

Separately, CleanCo Queensland, a publicly-owned energy generator, has signed a power purchase agreement with the project owners.

CleanCo CEO Maia Schweizer said: “CleanCo’s generation portfolio enables us to offer uniquely low-emissions energy to our large commercial and industrial customers.

“Power Purchase Agreements like this one mean we can offer competitively priced energy contracts supported by renewables and our fleet of low-emissions firming generation, guaranteeing supply day and night.

“The benefits of these agreements are far-reaching, our customers meet their sustainability targets at a competitive cost, helping them to remain relevant in a decarbonising world, and in turn we help Queensland meet our state emissions targets.”