North Queensland solar, battery and wind projects reach financial close as Goorambat East switches on

Late winter brought a run of good news for renewable energy construction. Two large North Queensland projects locked in their funding in August, clearing the way for construction crews to mobilise, and in northern Victoria ENGIE commissioned what it says is the state's largest operating solar farm.

Edify Energy's Ganymirra and Majors Creek solar and battery projects near Townsville and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' Gawara Baya wind farm south-west of Ingham have both reached financial close. Together they bring hundreds of construction jobs to regional Queensland.

What is financial close? It is the point at which all the funding and contracts for a project are signed and the money can be drawn, so construction can start in earnest. A final investment decision (FID) is the owner's formal commitment to build. The two usually arrive together.

Ganymirra and Majors Creek: solar and four-hour batteries near Townsville

Edify Energy announced financial close on 13 August for the two integrated projects at Woodstock, south of Townsville. DT Infrastructure is the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor, CATL is supplying the batteries and Powerlink is delivering the network and connection works.

The batteries are "reverse DC-coupled" with grid-forming inverters, so solar output can be stored on site and released when demand is higher, while helping to keep the grid stable. At 1,200 MWh of storage and 300 MW of output, the batteries can run at full power for about four hours.

The projects are Edify's third and fourth to reach financial close with support from the Australian Government's Capacity Investment Scheme. They sit within a portfolio financing package of about $3.2 billion from 14 domestic and international lenders, which also covers Edify's Smoky Creek and Guthrie's Gap projects. Edify expects more than $450 million to flow into local communities through regional supply chains, local jobs and First Nations businesses. Once running, the projects will generate enough electricity for more than 100,000 homes.

Gawara Baya: 68 turbines and a battery on Gugu Badhun Country

On 31 August, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) announced that its Copenhagen Infrastructure V fund had bought the Gawara Baya wind and battery project from developer Windlab. In the same step the fund made its final investment decision and reached financial close, with a $1.7 billion facility from 10 banks.

The project is about 65 km south-west of Ingham on Gugu Badhun Country. On 1 September, civil contractor Symal told the ASX that it had received its notice to proceed, with works starting immediately. Symal's civil balance-of-plant contract (the site civil work that supports the turbines) is now valued at $366 million and is expected to take about 24 months. Symal's Group Managing Director Joe Bartolo said the award showed the value of early contractor involvement, after the company spent an extended period working alongside the client on the site.

CIP expects the project to put more than $200 million into the regional Queensland economy. Windlab says a $200,000-a-year community benefit fund will run alongside it. At full output Gawara Baya can power up to 240,000 homes.

Goorambat East: Victoria's largest operating solar farm

In northern Victoria, ENGIE announced on 7 August that it had commissioned the 250 MW Goorambat East Solar Farm near Benalla. It is ENGIE's first large-scale solar development in Australia, and ENGIE says it is now the state's largest operating solar farm. The engineering, procurement and construction contractors were Bouygues Construction Australia and Equans Solar & Storage. Crews installed about 500,000 solar panels across 630 hectares, and the project was among the first in Australia to use robotic technology for solar installation, with trials of robotic module mounting and an automated pile driver.

ENGIE will also pay $75,000 a year into a community benefit fund for the life of the project.

Also in the pipeline

Bungaban Solar, a solar farm with integrated battery storage near Wandoan in southern Queensland, was referred under the federal EPBC Act in August 2026. The project is a 50:50 joint venture between Windlab and Squadron Energy, and Western Downs Regional Council approved its development application in June 2025. Windlab is targeting the start of construction in 2028.

What's next

DT Infrastructure now moves into construction at Woodstock, aiming to have Ganymirra and Majors Creek operating in 2028. At Gawara Baya, Symal's civil works program, expected to take about two years, is under way, with full operation expected in 2030. Goorambat East is now generating, supporting ongoing local operations and maintenance roles.

Published 8 October 2026 · Updated 2 October 2026