Federal clean energy investment reshaping Queensland's electricity market

The federal government's Capacity Investment Scheme and Rewiring the Nation transmission investment program are accelerating Queensland's transition away from coal-fired electricity generation, with a combined $2.8 billion in Commonwealth support for new renewable projects and critical transmission infrastructure confirmed for Queensland in the current investment cycle.

The Queensland grid, historically the most coal-reliant of any mainland state, is expected to reach 50 per cent renewable generation by 2027 based on the committed project pipeline — a transformation that would have been considered implausible a decade ago. The speed of the transition reflects both the falling cost of solar and wind generation and the planned retirements of the Callide and Millmerran coal power stations, which together represent approximately 3,000 megawatts of coal capacity.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Queensland's energy transition was one of the most significant industrial transformations underway anywhere in the world. "A state that was 80 per cent coal-powered eight years ago is on track to be 70 per cent renewable within a decade. That is extraordinary," he said.

Energy Queensland, which operates the state's distribution network, is receiving $420 million in Rewiring the Nation funding to upgrade the transmission infrastructure in the Wide Bay and Mackay regions, where several of the largest renewable projects are located but where the existing network was built for a different generation profile and does not have the capacity to export large amounts of solar and wind power to demand centres.

The energy transition is generating significant construction employment in regional Queensland, with approximately 12,000 workers employed on renewable energy projects at any given time in the state.

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