German utility RWE and Australia’s Stanwell have partnered to develop two onshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 1.8GW in Queensland, Australia.

Stanwell will investigate and assess energy offtakes and potential equity investment in RWE’s 1.1GW Theodore wind farm, which is under development near the town of Biloela.

A second wind project with 720MW of capacity is at an early stage of development in the southern part of the state.

Following grid connection and final investment decisions, the two projects will begin operations by 2029.

The Theodore project will generate enough electricity to meet the demands of 410,000 homes, and will create more than 500 jobs during its construction phase and up to 50 permanent jobs during its 35-year operational phase.

RWE CEO Markus Krebber stated: “RWE is excited to be partnering with Stanwell on these two major projects and assisting Queensland to achieve their renewable energy ambitions. RWE sees Australia as a very attractive renewable energy growth market and we are looking forward to working on developing the proposed Theodore wind farm.

“We are committed to increasing our presence in the Australian market, and the signing of this memorandum of understanding [MoU] with Stanwell for Theodore, and another of our Queensland projects, is a demonstration of this commitment.”

Stanwell CEO Michael O’Rourke stated: “An additional 1.8GW of clean energy by 2029 represents a major boost in our rapidly growing portfolio of renewable energy projects. This is a win-win agreement for the energy industry, Queensland and our commercial and industrial customers who want clean, reliable and affordable energy to power their businesses.

“And it strengthens Queensland’s position to deliver on the targets set out in the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, bringing more investment and jobs into our regional communities.”

Stanwell will buy the renewable electricity generated from the wind farms and will have the potential to acquire a stake.

RWE has been present in the Australian market for a decade. In 2018, the company began building its first renewable energy project, the 249MW Limondale solar farm in Balranald, New South Wales, which began operations in 2021.

In May 2023, RWE won a competitive tender to build a 50MW/400 megawatt-hour, eight-hour duration battery to be co-located at the Limondale solar farm.