Queensland's plan for clean energy company stalls as coal cash surges
The Queensland government appears to have stalled on plans to create its own clean energy generation company, even as it delivered a state budget propped up by a surge in coal royalties.
The June 2017 “powering Queensland” plan introduced the idea of CleanCo, a government-owned renewable energy corporation that would operate renewable generators and develop new projects.
Recommendations to establish CleanCo and restructure the state’s existing generators were due in the first half of 2018. State budget papers reveal that timeline has been stretched.
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“The government established a taskforce to investigate the establishment of CleanCo and will continue to investigate and engage with stakeholders across 2018-19 to deliver on its commitment,” the budget papers say.
“CleanCo will assist in meeting the (50%) Queensland renewable energy target by 2030, increase competition, and help put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices, delivering benefits to customers.”
As reported last week by Guardian Australia, the state has benefited from a coal royalties windfall, caused mainly by a record surge in international coal prices.
The state’s coalmines earned the government an estimated $3.8bn in royalties this year, well above forecasts, and are predicted to reach $3.5bn in 2018-19.
The importance of coal and gas to the budget is expected to continue, though conservative estimates are that prices will moderate from record highs in the short to medium term. A “gradual decline” is forecast over the next four years.
At the same time, renewables projects are in vogue in the sunshine state.
“Queensland has experienced significant growth in the renewable energy sector over the previous two years,” the budget papers say. “Queensland has many renewable energy projects under construction. These works will generate over 3,500 construction jobs.”
As the treasurer, Jackie Trad, prepared to deliver her first budget, more than 1,000 members of the Electrical Trades Union marched on parliament, protesting against the use of backpacker labour, rather than local trades people, on renewable energy construction projects.
The union says too few of those jobs are going to qualified locals. .
“We have all levels of government promising a jobs bonanza for local communities, yet what we are seeing is jobs, jobs, jobs for unlicensed overseas backpackers bussed in by labour hire companies to work on these projects,” the Queensland ETU secretary, Peter Ong, said recently.