WHERE IS IT?

The Mount Challenger site is located approximately 28km southeast of Bowen and 28km northwest of Proserpine within the Whitsunday Regional Council.

We’re proposing to build a wind and solar farm on this site, which is predominantly used for cattle grazing. We also intend to build an on-site substation to connect the project to the existing Powerlink electricity transmission network.

We’ve identified the Mount Challenger location based on its strong wind resource and proximity to existing transmission lines and large energy users.

Traditional owners

The Ngaro People inhabited the Whitsunday Islands and coastal bays and the Gia People inhabited the area around Proserpine. We acknowledge the Gia and Ngaro People as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waterways in the Whitsunday Regional Council.

About the region

This region has a strong tradition in mining, being home to Queensland’s oldest coal mine at Collinsville. Glencore and QCoal are the major current operators, producing both coking and thermal coal, much of which is exported through the Port of Abbot Point at Bowen.

Beyond the traditional industries of agriculture, sugar, mining and tourism, new industries are emerging. Tassal, the largest producer of salmon in Australia, is creating its largest prawn farm in Australia near the proposed site. This is creating a significant aquaculture industry for the region, which will double prawn production in Queensland.

Powerlink has also opened the interim Gladstone SuperGrid Training Centre and Transmission Hub, providing workers the critical skills needed in Queensland’s energy transformation.

Wind profile

Mount Challenger’s wind generation has what is regarded as an ‘attractive’ daily profile. This is important as the energy generated from the wind farm at either end of the day matches with peak energy demand times across the energy grid.