Overview

• The decision clears ACEN Australia to build up to 100 turbines rated at up to 900 MW in north‑west Tasmania as part of a A$3 billion development.
• The conditions require a bird‑and‑bat management plan that could temporarily curtail turbines, three years of pre‑construction surveys, and funding for orange‑bellied parrot conservation.
• Further safeguards include barriers to keep diseased devils off the island, protection of 1,164 hectares of devil habitat, and a ban on turbines within 1 km of wedge‑tailed eagle nests.
• The project still needs approval for a roughly 120 km transmission line, with assessment expected into 2026 and first generation projected around 2030–2031.
• The approval follows years of delays and legal challenges; business groups hailed the investment and jobs, while conservationists warned of risks to the critically endangered orange‑bellied parrot and migratory shorebirds.