The Kaban Green Power Hub will be located near Kaban in Northern Queensland, 80 kilometres south-west of Cairns and six kilometres north-west of Ravenshoe inside the Queensland Northern Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). The renewable energy hub will comprise a 157-megawatt wind farm and 100-megawatt storage facility.
The Hub will consist of 28 wind turbines, a new substation, battery storage, access tracks and cabling. The wind turbines and battery storage system will be connected via the site's substation to the National Electricity Market through an existing 275-kilovolt overhead transmission line operated by Powerlink Queensland. Upgrade of the 320-kilometre transmission line will form part of scope of works.
Neoen expects the facility to generate around 457 gigawatt hours of electricity each year.
Key Dates
| May 2021 | Construction Commencement |
| Jul 2023 | Expected Construction Completion |
Financing
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In May 2021, the Federal Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt used his power of veto to prevent the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) from providing concessional finance to the project. In September 2021, National Australia Bank (NAB) announced that it will provide project finance to Neoen for the project. |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Neoen |
| Successful Tenderer: | Vestas (turbine supplier and principal contractor) |
PROJECT HISTORY
| May 2018 | Queensland Government granted approval for the project. |
| Apr 2020 | The Federal Government granted approval with conditions for the project to proceed to construction. |
| Oct 2020 | The Queensland Government confirmed that the $380 million Kaban Green Power Hub would proceed to construction. The announcement follows a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) being signed between project developer Neoen and the Queensland Government-owned CleanCo. Under the PPA, CleanCo will purchase 110 megawatts of output from the wind farm. |
| May 2021 | Construction commenced on the project. The estimated project cost was also revised down from $380 million to $373 million. |
| May 2021 | The Queensland Government allocated $40 million to upgrade existing transmission lines for the project and the broader Northern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone. The funding commitment followed the Federal Minister for Northern Australia using his power of veto to block NAIF from providing finance to the project. |
| Sep 2021 | NAB announced that it will provide project finance to the proponent Neoen. |
| Oct 2022 | The project was connected to Queensland's power grid. |
