Overview

• Environment Minister Murray Watt signed off on ACEN Australia’s 100‑turbine, $3 billion project, expected to power about 422,000 homes and cut emissions by 3.4 million tonnes a year.
• The approval mandates three years of pre‑construction wildlife surveys, funding for an orange‑bellied parrot conservation program, and a bird‑and‑bat management plan that can temporarily stop turbines.
• Protections extend to Tasmanian devils and wedge‑tailed eagles, with bridge barriers to keep disease from a healthy devil population and a one‑kilometre buffer from eagle nests.
• The build includes a bridge to mainland Tasmania plus jetty and wharf works, supported by a state coastal policy change allowing structures on mobile landforms.
• The project overcame seven federal decision delays and multiple state tribunal and Supreme Court challenges; business groups welcomed the approval as environmental advocates condemned it, and construction is expected to begin in 2031 with about 350 construction jobs and 50 ongoing roles.