Plan for energy raises concern
NORTH Queensland is ready to take a leading role in renewable energy generation but Townsville Enterprise says there are shortcomings in the state government’s plan to harness it.
The aim of Queensland Renewable Energy Zones (QREZ) was to improve the coordination of investment in electricity transmission and renewable generation infrastructure, to attract new industries, foster jobs and growth, and achieve Queensland’s target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
Responding to the government’s QREZ Discussion Paper, the region’s peak economic development body Townsville Enterprise (TEL) highlighted several shortcomings that could seriously impede future development and investment in North Queensland.
TEL chief executive Claudia Brumme-smith said the wellintentioned plan lacked longterm vision and didn’t consider the progress NQ had made in this sector.
“North Queensland needs to see the targets set through QREZ embody the ambition that our region has in the renewables sector,” Ms Brumme-smith said.
“The current proposal for QREZ would unlock 500MW of new hosting capacity in North Queensland, however our region’s current project pipeline already far exceeds this target.
“With just three of the projects, Edify Energy’s electrolyser pilot plant, Origin Energy’s hydrogen facility at Lansdown, and Ark Energy renewable hydrogen plant requiring almost 10 times that alone.”
She said nearby projects like Copperstring2.0, Hells Gates Dam Pumped Hydro, Kidston Pumped Storage and Ark Energy’s hydrogen facility would be critical to help reach the state’s renewable energy target.
TEL recommended that the model consider NQ’S projects under construction and increase the proposed hosting capacity to at least 3000MW of generation, identify NQ as a renewable hydrogen hotspot and recognise significant energy projects such as CopperString 2.0.
Ark Energy vice chairwoman Kathy Danaher, said the North’s QREZ needed to send a strong signals to renewable energy proponents and investors over the long term, with the current design of only 500MW falling short.