Queensland to run its coal plants up to a decade longer than previously planned | Queensland

The Queensland government will keep state-owned coal power plants running for up to a decade longer than previous plans, in a move that will put pressure on national climate targets.

Queensland treasurer and energy minister David Janetzki unveiled an “energy roadmap” on Friday, saying some state-owned coal assets would remain in operation until at least 2046, “meaning coal will be part of the state’s generation mix for decades to come.”

Critics, including energy analysts and environmentalists, said the plans would burden Queenslanders with expensive and unreliable energy that would harm the climate.

The minister confirmed the government has no plans to repeal the province’s legal target to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035, but did not explain how running coal longer would affect those efforts.

“Simply put, we need more production to meet the energy production challenge of our future,” Janetzki said.

“Coal for longer, more gas, more wind and solar, more pumped hydropower, and batteries for compaction and storage.”

The roadmap is a sudden change from the previous Palaszczuk Labor government’s 10-year plan announced three years ago, which would have seen most of the state’s coal power shut down by 2035.

The roadmap confirmed that the state’s renewable energy targets, including the 80% target for 2035, would be repealed.

Queensland is Australia’s largest emitting state, accounting for approximately 28% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

About a third of Queensland’s emissions come from electricity generation. Last year, nearly 65% ​​of the state’s electricity came from coal, followed by solar (20%) and wind (6%).

The state has eight coal-fired power plants; two are privately owned, five are government-owned and one is a joint venture.

Coal units at Stanwell, which were assumed to be closed in 2033 by the previous government, will operate until at least 2043; Tarong, Tarong North, Callide B and Kogan Creek will operate for at least two to six years longer.

These closures were in line with those assumed by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) in its long-term plans for the electricity market.

This month the owner of Queensland’s largest coal-fired power station at Gladstone told Aemo it wanted the option to close the plant in 2029, six years earlier than expected.

The state government also announced the creation of a $400 million fund to “encourage investment in renewable resources such as solar power and hydropower, as well as batteries to better store the energy we produce,” Janetski said.

The government has already announced that $1.6 billion will be allocated for the maintenance of coal power plants to prevent unplanned and expensive outages. The government also wants to attract private sector investment in new gas-fired power in central Queensland, the roadmap said.

Federal Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the announcement was “disappointing but not surprising” and said he would “leave it to the Queensland government to explain why they disagree with warnings from independent organizations that consistently say unreliable, aging coal is driving up bills for all Australians, including Queenslanders.”

He said the plan makes “strong federal action” on climate change “more important, not less.”

Stephanie Bashir, managing director of energy consultants Nexa Advisory, said: “The Queensland Government has delivered a dead end, not a roadmap. Queenslanders are being saddled with the most expensive energy option.

“Expanding coal, which is already unreliable and expensive, means more blackouts, higher bills and less investment in cheap renewable alternatives like wind and solar backed by batteries.”

Queensland Renewable Energy Council chief executive Katie-Anne Mulder said the roadmap struck a “reasonable balance”.

“Despite the decision to scrap renewable energy targets, the roadmap relies on up to 6.8 gigawatts of new wind and solar power and 3.8 GW of storage by 2030,” he said.

He said billions of dollars of renewable projects in the state are “ready to proceed.”

“What matters now is delivering on the promise of accelerating renewables, strengthening the grid and giving investors the confidence to deploy capital in Queensland,” he said.

WWF-Australia’s Nicole Forrester said the government had published a road map “for more fires, floods and heatwaves, as well as more mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef”.

“Holding coal and delaying climate action will also mean more hip pocket pain for Queenslanders as extreme weather becomes more frequent and intense.”