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The biggest project Symal has ever undertaken in Queensland to date, a huge step forward for our growing footprint in the sunshine state and our expanding capability in renewable energy.
"Reaching this point reflects the trust our clients place in us to deliver at scale," said Matthew Gurney, Executive General Manager. "It's a significant marker for the business and one that positions us well for the projects ahead."
Gawara Baya is set to be the only wind farm to get moving in Queensland this year and once completed will deliver 68 wind turbines and a battery energy storage system to power up to 240,000 Australian homes while cutting an estimated 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from Australia's energy market every year.
The project is expected to inject more than $200 million into the regional Queensland economy through local employment, procurement, and supply chain participation, creating up to 500 direct and indirect jobs in regional Queensland.
Gawara Baya is also one of the largest east coast renewable energy projects to reach financial close under the Federal Government's Capacity Investment Scheme and demonstrates the Scheme’s objective in action: using long-term revenue underwriting to de-risk private investment and unlock the capital needed to build major renewable energy generation and storage capacity at scale.
Getting here didn’t happen by accident. Through the ECI phase, our teams have worked closely with the client and project partners to plan, problem-solve and de-risk delivery, laying the groundwork to move into construction with confidence.
"It's a credit to the planning and delivery work that's gone in well before today," Matthew said.
For Symal, Gawara Baya is about a lot more than delivering a major piece of renewable energy infrastructure. It's a chance to cement real roots in North Queensland.
"We've made a deliberate decision to build a genuine, long-term presence in Townsville rather than run this as a fly-in-fly-out job," Matthew said.
"Townsville is becoming a real hub for our people in North Queensland, and that's an investment in the region as much as it is in the project."
That's what Symal is all about: being part of the communities where we work and giving our people the chance to build genuine careers close to home.
It's also fuel for where we're headed next. Every project like this sharpens our skills and grows our footprint in energy, setting us up for the next generation of projects in the sector.
"Every project like this continues to build our technical capability in sector, and Gawara Baya adds to a track record we've been growing deliberately for more than a decade," Matthew said.
"It reflects where our capability sits today, and it's a strong indication of where we intend to keep taking this business."
Receiving the Notice to Proceed at Gawara Baya is a genuinely exciting moment for Symal, our people and our growing Queensland operations. It's another step towards delivering the infrastructure that will help power Queensland's future.
