At ACCIONA Energía, sustainability is at the heart of our operations, which is why we have detailed plans and strategies to minimise our impacts from projects. Renewable energy projects help meet these goals by reducing emissions and providing clean energy to thousands of Australians, reducing the impacts from climate change that all of us will experience. Although the footprint is far smaller than that of fossil fuels, even clean energy projects have impacts on the local environment due to construction and operation processes.

Considering this, what is ACCIONA Energía doing at its major wind farms in Australia to ensure sustainability is maintained?

MacIntyre Wind Farm

Construction is underway at the MacIntyre Wind Farm, our largest renewable energy facility to date and one of the largest onshore wind farms worldwide. When complete, the MacIntyre turbines will generate enough emissions-free energy to power 700,000 homes per year. With such a large project underway, it is critical that we implement actions to minimise our impacts on surrounding ecosystems. Our team has reported back on a few of the measures taken on site to improve sustainability.

Recycling water

Water has many important functions on site. We strive to recycle as much water as possible, to minimise the consumption of this precious resource. We achieve this through our recycled water system, where class A water (recycled water that is of sufficient quality that workers can be safely exposed to it) is used for dust suppression. Dust suppression is an essential activity during construction, without which it would be extremely difficult to work safely and effectively.

Use of cleared vegetation as mulch

Although most of the wind farm is located on land predominantly cleared for sheep farming, some native vegetation needs to be cleared on site to construct the wind farm infrastructure. Some lighter timber obtained through the clearing and grubbing processes of construction is then processed into mulch, placed at the side of access roads and on batters.

This mulch serves multiple purposes. For example, it helps nourish the soil by returning the nutrients stored in plant biomass to the earth. The mulch also helps suppress weeds, improves water retention in the soil, regulates soil temperatures (improving the viability of plants) and prevents erosion. These processes help restore some of the quality of the land.

Use of hollow logs to create habitat for native fauna

Although some native vegetation needs to be cleared, this doesn’t mean an equivalent amount of habitat is removed. We try to replace as much habitat as possible by leaving hollowed out logs for use by native fauna. Hollow logs are salvaged from the clearing and grubbing process of construction and placed at the edge of the construction corridor, providing essential habitat for terrestrial fauna such as smaller reptiles, snakes, and other ground-dwelling Australian fauna. 

What are we doing to protect local wildlife around the MacIntyre site?

These actions form part of a broader effort to protect and maintain ecosystems on and around the project site. Many years of ecological survey and assessment have informed the final wind farm layout to ensure impacts to local wildlife is avoided and minimised wherever possible. The MacIntyre Wind Farm Precinct has an extensive Environmental Management Plan (EMP) that complies with all State and Federal regulations to minimise the project’s impact on the local environment. Additionally, as part of the project approval, the project is required to establish vegetation offsets at a rate that is significantly greater than the area that will be impacted. This ensures there are tangible biodiversity benefits associated with the project.