Australian Queensland commits $150 million to renewable energy projects

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Sunday a new pledge of more than $150 million to expand renewable energy capacity in Queensland as part of the State’s commitment for renewables to provide 50 percent of its energy needs by 2030.

The fund will be managed under the Powering Queensland’s Future Plans programme, which includes four key initiatives.

$97 million will be allocated to solar panels in schools, making the project the one holding the biggest share of the investment.

The government is developing a new solar thermal plant for baseload electricity generation, for which it will provide $50 million in a down payment.

Decarbonisation initiatives for remote communities, possibly including off-grid power solutions, will absorb $3.6 million and lastly, research for renewable energy solutions for the Daintree region will be allocated $1 million.

Ms. Palaszczuk also announced a $3.1 million investment for feasibility studies of a lithium-ion battery manufacturing factory near Townsville.

The Premier stressed that the renewable energy projects are part of a series of energy projects which include highly efficient coal and gas-fired power plants.

Ms. Palaszczuk said: “Our Powering Queensland’s Future Plan sets out actions to make sure we get the balance right, delivering more of the cheapest form of new generation renewables sooner to complement our young and efficient fleet of coal and gas-fired generation”.

“Getting this balance right will deliver affordable and stable power for households, businesses, and industry.”

She added: “We are committed to our transition to at least 50 percent renewable energy in Queensland by 2030”.

The announcement took place during a visit of Ms. Annastacia Palaszczuk and Energy Minister Mark Bailey to the Cale Solar Farm project in Ayr.

The newly pledged funds are part of a $20 billion in proposed investment across Queensland, with the aim to create up to 15,000 jobs.