Bungaban Solar advances through approvals, land deals and grid planning

# What happened Bungaban Solar, being developed as part of the Bungaban Renewable Energy Hub, has progressed through several practical development steps. The project is a 50:50 joint venture between Windlab and Squadron Energy. Key milestones reported include local planning approval, an environmental referral, land agreements, a grid connection enquiry and supplier engagement.

# Milestones reached June 2025. That approval removes a significant local planning obstacle and allows the project team to advance detailed technical and commercial work.

Following the council approval, the joint venture submitted a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The EPBC referral is the formal step toward national environmental assessment and is required before major projects can obtain federal environmental clearances.

The project team has also secured key land agreements with landholders. Those agreements are necessary to progress design, access, site surveys and to lock in footprint and easements ahead of construction planning.

A grid connection enquiry with Powerlink has been completed. That enquiry helps the team understand connection options, constraints and likely technical or network requirements for connecting large-scale solar (and associated infrastructure) to the Queensland transmission grid.

# Commercial and supply-chain activity Market engagement with potential suppliers and contractors has begun. The engagement aims to identify local and regional capability, procurement opportunities and likely delivery pathways for equipment and services as the project moves toward procurement and construction phases.

# Stakeholder engagement The project team intends to continue engaging with landholders, local communities, Traditional Owners, councils, suppliers and other stakeholders as development advances. These ongoing consultations are presented as part of the project's process for securing permissions and confirming impacts and benefits at the community level.

# Project context Bungaban Renewable Energy Hub is presented as part of a broader effort to secure large-scale wind and solar capacity to support Australia's energy transition. The project remains at the development stage, working through approvals, technical studies, commercial arrangements and supply-chain planning before reaching construction-ready status.

# What to watch next

• Progress and outcomes of the EPBC Act referral and any federal conditions required for approval.
• Results of detailed grid connection assessments and any network upgrades identified by Powerlink.
• Procurement milestones, such as selection of EPC contractors or module and inverter suppliers following market engagement.
• Continued execution of land agreements and the status of stakeholder consultations, including engagement with Traditional Owners and local councils.

# Bottom line