– Dr. Tom Dixon, Queensland Community Engagement Manager.

Queensland’s new energy plan, released by Energy Minister David Janetzki last Friday, is a disappointing throwback that risks taking Queensland decades backward in its commitment to clean energy and climate action.

By shifting investment focus back to coal and gas, rather than accelerating investment in renewables, the State Government is effectively kicking the can down the road on emissions reduction and future energy needs from new and existing technologies. At the same time, our neighbours in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia continue to power ahead with the clean energy transition. With major industry clearly articulating that their future business models require a shift to renewables, the Sunshine State is effectively closing the door on the chance to support future markets with energy generated by the sun and wind.

For many rural and regional Queenslanders, that means missed opportunities for long-term prosperity, and a huge financial burden to keep ageing coal-fired power stations running.

Renewable energy projects have the potential to generate guaranteed annual income for farmers that isn’t reliant on the weather or commodity markets, and create new jobs and funding streams for councils and communities. But the State Government’s new energy plan will see many of those benefits unrealised. 

Regional success stories power ahead

From Hughenden to the Western Downs, communities have shown that renewable energy can bring jobs, investment and a lasting economic base for the future.

In Hughenden, large-scale investment in CopperString is bringing the benefits of renewable energy to Northern Australia. 

Flinders Shire Mayor Kate Peddle has welcomed the commitment, describing it as a turning point for the region – one that not only supports the workers behind the CopperString 2032 Transmission Line, but also lays the foundations for Flinders’ future growth.

“This announcement supports the people who will build this State-shaping project, and more importantly, positions our community to grow alongside it,” said Mayor Peddle. “This investment ensures Council will now have the capacity to provide improved and reliable water and sewerage services – not only to our existing community, but to the expanded workforce that the CopperString project is generating.”

On the Western Downs, Mayor Andrew Smith has spoken publicly about how renewables have revitalised his region over the past decade. Without solar and wind investment, he said, the town’s population would have declined. Instead, the shire is now thriving – local contractors are busy, jobs have been created, and community benefit agreements have brought tangible improvements to local infrastructure and services.

That’s what success looks like when renewable projects are done right: regional growth, shared prosperity and genuine partnership between councils, communities, developers and government. We are worried that, going forward, the lack of ambition on clean energy technologies in this plan will lock out other communities from these same benefits. 

Energy plan has impacts for renewable energy regions 

The Renewable Energy Alliance has worked with regional communities like these across Australia for more than a decade. Again and again, we’ve heard the same message from local governments, landholders and community groups: what we need is clarity, certainty and community consultation.

While we welcomed the council-led community benefits framework announced earlier this year – which balances economic, environmental and social outcomes while giving locals a genuine voice in how projects are shaped – we caution that the new energy roadmap gives little hope for renewable energy investment, beyond what is already underway in areas like Flinders and Western Downs.

Recent analysis suggests that the new capacity the Government says will be built between now and 2030 (6.5 gigawatts) is either already under construction, contracted by Rio Tinto to replace the state’s biggest coal generator at Gladstone, or underwritten by the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

Policy certainty – and a clear roadmap for how Queensland will transition to renewables – is critical to maintain investor confidence. Without certainty, project developers hesitate, financing dries up, and ultimately regional communities lose out on the economic benefits from the industry. The newly released plan gives very little certainty to any future for renewables in the State. 

As global energy markets shift quickly towards renewable energy, choosing to extend the life of coal-fired power stations in Queensland “well into the 2040s,” increasing funding for coal-fired power to $1.6 billion, and a greater focus on gas generation, the State Government has sent a confusing signal to the market, workers and communities. 

Queenslanders deserve better than to see hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars propping up outdated industries while our regions miss out on new, sustainable opportunities. Especially when the Treasurer and Energy Minister publicly states Queensland has some of the best wind and solar resources in the country, if not the world. 

Regional Energy Hubs – a shift backwards?

The plan scraps the state’s Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) and replaces them with broader Regional Energy Hubs, a change that, while sounding harmless, represents a major policy backslide, meaning many other rural communities will miss out on the benefits brought through Community Benefit Agreements from renewables.

These proposed “hubs” will not focus solely on renewable generation or transmission coordination – they’ll also accommodate gas and other fossil fuel-based generation. This shift dilutes the clarity and focus that REZs were set up to provide.

REZs were designed to give certainty – to communities, councils and investors – by clearly mapping out where renewable energy development should occur, coordinated with transmission and workforce planning. Undoing these zones and replacing them with an all-of-the-above “energy hub” approach creates confusion, undermines investor confidence, and stalls the progress Queensland needs to meet its climate and energy targets.

Also of note is that the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project has been shifted to “optional” status in the plan.

In its place, the plan talks up small pumped hydro energy storage (PHE) projects scattered across the state. While distributed storage can play a role, it’s clear that this pivot reflects political nervousness and a retreat from big-ticket renewable infrastructure. No further detail on small PHE was put forward in the plan.

A clean energy future to benefit regional communities 

We’re committed to working closely with rural and regional communities across Queensland who are ready to lead the shift to clean energy – but they need an actual pipeline to deliver for their communities. 

These new changes are complex and out of step with the direction Australia is more than half way towards: powering the country with energy generated by renewable sources, and bringing benefits to all of regional Australia. 

RE-Alliance continues to work with communities across Queensland, and throughout Australia, to maximise these benefits and ensure that we are still on track for a prosperous and secure clean energy future.