Page 32 - pd281-Apr20-mag-web_Neat

QUeensLAnD

Queensland

powers up the curve

ueensland Minister for State Development and Natural Resources and Mines Anthony
Q Lynham says the LNP outfit under Campbell Newman left the state lagging on a number
of fronts, including implementing a renewable energy strategy. However, as the sunshine state
prepares for polling day in October, Lynham boastfully told Paydirt that Queensland was now
trumping most of Australia in the adoption of renewable energy means.

used to be so proud that every month patch clean energy into the grid in any prices. We are not going to hook off sup-
I households in Queensland installed 100 conditions. The lithium-ion battery will be ply because the more supply we have
batteries; well that is now 300 batteries capable of powering 57,000 homes. the lower the electricity prices are go-
every month and rising. I was equally as While Vena plans to deliver 1,000MW ing to be. The more power we can ex-
proud that every 15 minutes a new so- of solar energy in Queensland alone, the port interstate means that we can earn
lar roof was installed on a Queensland 100MW lithium-ion battery feeds into more income from other states which
home; that is now down to every nine and out of the National Energy Market have power deficiencies and that income
minutes,” Lynham said. and stores up to 150MW hours of energy. goes directly into lowering Queensland
“We have hit over 20% renewable en- Queensland already has three large- families’ power bills.”
ergy usage in Queensland and we are scale batteries operating, while $5 bil- Construction of Adani’s Carmichael
well on our way to 50%. Unlike other lion has been invested and 5,000 jobs coal mine in the North Galilee Basin
states, we came in after the Newman created during construction of projects started in June 2019 and in the first
Government which was anti-renewable that now sees the State equipped with stage of the open cut thermal operation,
energy. We had virtually nothing built 5,500MW of renewable generation ca- 10 mtpa coal is expected.
and were well behind the other states. pacity. Lynham said the Government had
Now, we have more than caught up and, Meanwhile, Lynham said Queensland lived up to its promise of not providing
in fact, leading some of the other states had some of the youngest coal-fired gen- Adani with any assistance or subsidies
in renewable energy. That is because erators in the country and that the State in developing its mine and infrastructure.
we have a steady hand, we have a reli- was far from phasing out the coal sector. While the development of a multi-
able supply and also the lowest energy “Absolutely, coal has a future in the billion dollar coal project indicates how
prices.” State and our government is commit- rich Queensland is in that sector, Lyn-
The near-term renewable energy tar- ted to making sure that there is a steady ham feared what impact the coronavirus
get is 50% in Queensland by 2030. transition. You have to have that transi- would have.
Construction of one of Australia’s larg- tion and we are taking the Queensland “Global oil prices are falling; our gas
est batteries is expected to start in July population and workers on this journey price is linked to the oil price so that will
(and take one year to complete), near with us,” Lynham said. suffer. It also means that there is a gen-
Wandoan, south-west Queensland. “There is nothing [to phase out coal] eral slowdown in the Chinese economy,”
AGL Energy and Vena Energy Aus- planned before 2030, we’ve got the 10 Lynham said.
tralia have proposed to build the 100MW youngest coal-fired generators in the “Traditionally, when China has eco-
battery on the Western Downs, which country and bringing supply onto the nomic frustrations, such as when they
will have the capacity to store and dis- market brings downward pressure on had tariff wars with the US, China be-

Page 32 aPRIL 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT