At a Community Consultative Committee (CCC) meeting held at the Cooranga North Memorial Hall today, AGL Energy Limited (AGL) announced that the Queensland Office of the Coordinator-General (OCG) has accepted the Coopers Gap Wind Farm Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as final.

The OCG made its decision after taking all public submissions into account. AGL Coopers Gap Wind Farm project manager, Evan Carless, said this was a very encouraging milestone for the project.

“The project is moving along well. From here the OCG will evaluate the EIS and provide a final determination, which is anticipated in March 2017.

“There is still a way to go, but having the OCG accept our EIS, which took into consideration noise and potential economic benefits, is another step forward for the project.

“Continually consulting with the community throughout the process is a priority and a fundamental element to the success of the project. We very much appreciate the community’s commitment to the project,” Mr Carless said.

It is hoped the Coopers Gap Wind Farm will be the next greenfield renewable development offered to the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF). The PARF is a partnership between AGL, QIC and Future Fund, which is targeting the development of approximately 1,000 MW of large-scale renewable energy projects.

The Coopers Gap Wind Farm is proposed to have a capacity of approximately 400 MW, which would produce around 1,100 GWh of renewable energy, powering more than 190,000 average Australian homes. The renewable energy produced would reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 860,000 tonnes annually, which is the equivalent of taking over 250,000 cars off the road.

About AGL
AGL is one of Australia’s leading integrated energy companies. It is taking action to responsibly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while providing secure and affordable energy to its customers. Drawing on over 175 years of experience, AGL serves its customers throughout eastern Australia with meeting their energy requirements, including gas, electricity, solar PV and related products and services. AGL has a diverse power generation portfolio including base, peaking and intermediate generation plants, spread across traditional thermal generation as well as renewable sources including hydro, wind, solar, landfill gas and biomass.