Landowners Sought for Gigawatt-Scale Solar and Wind Projects in 930km Clean Energy Corridor

Landholders in Central Western Queensland have the opportunity to participate in a new “clean energy corridor” project that aims to develop renewable energy projects along a 930km high voltage transmission line connecting Hughenden to Biloela via Barcaldine.

Seven regional councils in Queensland have collaborated with the founders of the CopperString transmission project to launch the RAPAD Power Grid project. This initiative plans to construct a “non-regulated” transmission line that will link the Townsville to Mount Isa CopperString corridor at Hughenden, extending through the central west to Biloela, an industrial and energy hub near Gladstone.

Opportunities for Renewable Energy Projects

The proposed transmission line will be backed by commercial contracts with major network users and has the capacity to accommodate 5.2GW of third-party renewable energy projects. Additionally, the network will incorporate “common-user battery storage” to enhance its capabilities.

The Central Western Queensland Regional Area Planning and Development (RAPAD) councils, along with CopperString’s founders, VisIR, are calling on landholders and communities to express their interest in participating in the project. This marks the initial step in engaging with the project team and exploring future opportunities.

Tony Rayner, RAPAD Board Chair and Longreach Regional Council Mayor, emphasised the importance