Clarke Creek Wind Farm

Key results

• 90,000m³ of concrete supplied to 100 wind turbine foundations
• Zero lost-time, medical-treatment or restricted-work injuries throughout the project
• Pour schedule changes and truck-number variations absorbed without disruption to timeline

About the project

Clarke Creek Wind Farm Stage 1 is one of the largest wind projects to come online in Australia, generating 450MW from the Broadsound Range in rural Queensland – enough to power around 330,000 homes. The project is owned by Squadron Energy.

Wagners was engaged by civil construction company CATCON to mobilise an on-site batching plant and supply the concrete for turbine foundations.

The challenge

CATCON had 100 turbine foundations to complete on a remote mountaintop in rural Queensland and no concrete plant within reach of the site. Trucking ready-mix supply in from Rockhampton or Mackay wasn’t a viable option as the cartage distance alone would set the concrete before delivery and no fixed plant could sustain the volume of material required.

Each foundation required a single continuous pour of up to 700m³ – any break in supply could’ve compromised its structural integrity. CATCON needed a concrete supplier who could remain mobilised on site for the full duration, relocate across difficult terrain and sustain high quality output despite variations in schedule.

The solution

We mobilised an on-site batch plant in August 2022 for the 33-month engagement, supplying 90,000m³ of structural concrete for the 100 turbine foundations. As the construction program progressed across the site, our team relocated the plant to keep batching close to the foundations being poured, reducing truck travel time and protecting mix quality. Batching volumes and truck numbers were also scaled up or back week to week with minimal downtime.

Across the project, Wagners also:

• Managed continuous pours averaging 560m³ per foundation, with the largest reaching 700m³, without disruption to supply
• Project completed over a 33 month timeframe, without lost-time, medical treatment or restricted work injury
• Managed temperature control and monitoring across high-volume continuous pours to maintain mix specifications through the pour
• Mitigated risk on steep terrain across the project footprint to keep batching and supply safe and continuous
• Trained local workers on the job in agitator operations and employed local labour across the engagement