Queensland on course to hit 50% renewables target

Experts outline three credible options that will allow the Australian state to hit its ambitious 50 per cent renewables target by 2030.

Queensland, the second-largest and third-most-populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia, is Australia’s biggest carbon polluting state.

In 2015, the Queensland government confirmed its commitment to generate 50 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030, and ensure that one million of its homes had rooftop solar by 2020.

A draft report by the state’s independent renewable energy expert panel stated that significant government policy action would be necessary in order to reach these ambitious targets, which will require between 4000 and 5500MW of new large-scale renewable generation capacity between 2020 and 2030.

The report also laid out three different routes for Queensland to achieve these targets.

The first scenario suggests that the state government could continue to use existing federal funding under the national renewable energy target to attract projects.

The other scenarios, a steady increase in renewable generation or a ramp-up closer to 2030 to take advantage of cheaper technology, would both cut emissions by 25 per cent.

The Queensland Energy Minister, Mark Bailey, said the release of the report was a “ground-breaking development” in the government’s pursuit of its renewables goal.

He added:  “It shows Queensland can meet a 50 per cent renewable energy target while maintaining electricity security and reliability over the next 14 years”.

It also showed the huge potential benefits to the state economy through $6.7 billion in new investment and a net average increase in jobs of 6,400 to 6,700 a year.

Tim Seelig, of the Queensland Conservation Council, said the panel’s draft report showed recent commentary about renewables targets being unrealistic was “wrong, and that in fact there are several options for achieving the targets”.