Cash splash on coal a short-term bandaid for Queensland’s energy system

The new Queensland Government’s coal power plant cash splash, the Electricity Maintenance Guarantee, won’t deliver long-term energy reliability, according to the Queensland Conservation Council.

Queensland Conservation Council campaigner and energy expert Stephanie Gray said

The Queensland Government can throw all the money they want at the state’s ageing coal-fired power stations but it doesn’t change the fact that they will continue to have breakdowns and struggle to compete against renewable energy.

Right now in NSW they’re seeing unplanned coal outages putting the grid at risk of blackouts because Australia’s ageing coal clunkers are reaching the end of their technical lives, they’re inflexible and they struggle in the heat.

Renewable energy now provides 40 percent of the electricity in Australia’s main grid. It’s affordable and the technology is here now, ready to replace retiring coal.

In Queensland our renewable energy targets and clear policy signals have meant to date the state is an attractive place for clean energy investors, which is why we have a strong pipeline of projects and are on track to meet the targets.

In the lead up to the election, we heard concerning commentary that the LNP is open to paying to keep coal on life support past retirement dates.

Our research shows that if the Queensland LNP wants to keep retiring Callide B open past its used-by-date, it could cost Queensland taxpayers up to $420 million a year. This is a complete waste of taxpayer money when there’s more than enough renewable energy in the pipeline to replace Callide B by 2028.

If the new Queensland Government is serious about long-term reliability, affordability and sustainability, then they should maintain our renewable energy targets and urgently deliver a plan to reach them.

Energy policy uncertainty is bad for industry, communities and consumers because, at the end of the day, we all have to pay if governments aren’t doing responsible planning.

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