Renewables push in Queensland for cooperation between state and federal governments
The Queensland state government is being urged to do a deal with the commonwealth for national support to build more local renewable energy and storage projects.
The federal government has made renewable energy transformation agreements with every other state, meaning billions of dollars of Commonwealth funding become available for green power projects like batteries and solar.
Stephanie Gray, a campaigner with the Queensland Conservation Council, said regional communities deserve their fair share of federal funding.
We’re concerned recent moves by the Queensland government indicate they’re opposed to new clean energy investment, which if true, is bad news for regional economies, power bills and climate action.
The Queensland government has recently cancelled a windfarm they previously approved and moved to implement controversial legislation changes that will make it very challenging to get a large-scale renewable project approved.
Gray said Queensland’s coal-fired power stations had broken down “a staggering 78 times over the last summer period”.
As our ageing coal fleet heads towards retirement, it’s only practical to make sure that new renewable energy supply is coming online to keep the lights on, manage power bills and reduce emissions in our most polluting sector …
We simply cannot depend on our coal clunkers any more, and their unreliability is driving up wholesale power prices.
