Renewables ready to power jobs bonanza
TOWNSVILLE could be a renewable energy zone attracting billions in investment and thousands of jobs in the construction of transmission and electricity generation infrastructure, according to a report by the Solar Citizens group.
Solar Citizens national director Ellen Roberts said the report, called Queensland’s Renewable Recovery Plan, analysed how many jobs would be created if key renewable energy zones were developed across Queensland.
“We found that developing the two major zones in North Queensland, including
Townsville and the surrounding area, creates over 4100 construction jobs every year until 2030 and 2500 ongoing jobs,” Ms Roberts said.
“Across Queensland turbocharging our large-scale renewable energy industry creates 9300 construction jobs every year for the next 10 years and almost 6000 ongoing jobs.”
Ms Roberts said the need for new transmission infrastructure was one of the main hurdles stopping investment in new solar and wind projects in Queensland.
But she said that with the right infrastructure the state could have a thriving energy industry. “Queenslanders could be the main beneficiaries as Australia transitions to renewable energy because we’ve got incredible solar and wind resources and clean energy expertise,” Ms Roberts said.
“Regional Queenslanders, in particular, will be the winners with 75 per cent of the jobs created from a thriving renewable energy industry being in the regions.”
Ms Roberts said the State Government’s economic recovery measures should prioritise energy infrastructure and public investment in new solar, wind and storage projects to fast-track renewable jobs and create manufacturing industries.
“One of Queensland’s main competitive advantages should be cheap energy because we have some of the world’s best solar and wind resources,” Ms Roberts said.
“Tapping into these resources could attract new industries and see ‘green’ steel and storage batteries being manufactured here in Queensland.”
The report found providing 50,000 storage batteries across Queensland’s 700,000 solar homes and businesses would create 280 installation jobs every year for five years, as well as 73 ongoing jobs.