The Queensland energy minister, Mick de Brenni, says the state needs to triple its renewable energy generation capacity by 2035 – transforming the energy sector by building some of the world’s largest industrial-scale green projects.
De Brenni’s speech to the Smart Energy Conference in Brisbane on Wednesday was the first significant insight into the state’s future energy blueprint, set for release in the coming months.
The plan is expected to outline the state’s emissions reductions commitments and its specific plans to increase renewable energy generation. Queensland has remained steadfast that it will not close coal-fired generators ahead of schedule, but its state-owned energy companies have acknowledged the energy transition requires a shift in focus.
In a pre-recorded speech to the conference, de Brenni said the state’s energy plan would seek to deliver cheaper Queensland-made electricity. It would make the state a “global leader” in energy and resources.
“We’ve done the numbers and by 2035 we will need 25GW of renewable energy generation projects in Queensland. So without going into the specifics, that means Queenslanders will build some of the largest industrial-scale renewable projects in the world.”
He flagged investment in “a series of mega pumped-hydroelectric dams in the mountain ranges”, distribution networks and green hydrogen.
De Brenni said the state would require “tens of thousands” of personal, community, network and grid-scale batteries and that building more rooftop solar “will be the key to our success”.
Most of Queensland’s 7GW renewable generation comes from rooftop solar panels. The investment outlined by de Brenni would more than triple Queensland’s renewable generation capacity.
It would also mean that, via the construction of new projects, renewables become the dominant source of the state’s power. Currently Queensland has a total of 15.5GW of commercial generation, primarily from coal and gas.
“The energy transformation of our state is the biggest opportunity any of us will see,” de Brenni said.
“We have to make the most of the challenges before us. The climate legislation and actions on renewable energy taken during the first 100 days of the Albanese government should have happened a decade ago.
“Given we are so far behind as a nation our response has to be one that adapts, capitalises and transforms. We have to take real action on powering our future.”
The Queensland Conservation Council says modelling from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows the state could get to 100% renewable energy by 2030 if it built 25GW of large-scale wind and solar, and 7GW of storage.
The QCC, Australian Conservation Foundation and Solar Citizens have been calling for an interim target of 6GW of additional renewables and 1GW of storage by 2025.
The QCC director, Dave Copeman, said Queensland’s energy plan needed “a clear timeline” for transitioning publicly-owned power stations to renewables.
“The state can only lock in the future industries if investors and industry know when Queensland will be 100% renewable energy powered,” he said.
