Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has demonstrated her commitment to the environment with today's announcement that she is proposing to reject Clive Palmer's Central Queensland Coal Mine, proposed for the Styx valley between Rockhampton and Mackay. 

From 1 July 2022, Queenslander’s electricity bills will increase. Queensland’s wholesale electricity prices have skyrocketed as fossil fuel prices rise and our coal and gas power stations are becoming increasingly unreliable. Queensland desperately needs more investment in renewable energy, guided by a clear and ambitious 10 Year Energy Plan, to bring down prices.

This report outlines how the proposed Wambo and MacIntyre wind farms had been built by 2021-22, Queensland’s average 2021-22 prices to date could have been reduced by $30/MWh, or nearly 25%, by reducing the number of extreme price points and the reliance on gas during lower demand periods.

Wholesale energy costs are the main driver behind the price rises which will see Queenslanders paying up to  $400 million more for electricity in 2022-23 than in 2021-22.

We can’t get back the past three years of limited progress, but we can get out of the cycle of playing catch up to high prices. 

Read the full report here.

Waratah Coal, a company owned by Clive Palmer, is seeking development approval for the new 1,400 MW coal fired Galilee Power Station in central Queensland.  

If it goes ahead, electricity from the Galilee Power Station will cost at least $100/MWh. This is likely an underestimate as it would be extremely vulnerable to increased costs from finance, as fewer investors are willing to back risky new coal, and carbon prices over the four decades of its potential operation.

$100/MWh is already 35% higher than 2020-21 prices and is nearly double the cost of electricity from building new renewable energy and storage.

The Galilee Power Station would emit over 230 megatonnes of carbon dioxide and eat up more than 20% of Queensland's carbon budget to meet our Paris Agreement commitments.

Queensland doesn’t need extra energy or capacity from an inflexible, polluting coal fired power station at Alpha. We need investment in clean and cheaper renewable energy and storage for the future.

Read the full report

The coal-fired power stations owned by the Queensland Government’s Stanwell and CS Energy will never make a profit again after 2023-24. Queensland Conservation Council forecast the future generation, costs and revenues of Stanwell and CS Energy to 2024-25. 

Rooftop solar and large-scale renewable energy are changing the electricity market, pushing wholesale prices down and displacing generation from coal fired power stations.  

Based on our analysis, CS Energy would never have made a profit after this year, even before the explosion at Callide C4. After 2023-24, the Queensland Government owned generators of CS Energy and Stanwell will post an operating loss. This means the Queensland taxpayers will be forced to subsidise dirty coal generation to keep the companies alive.

This report sets out the analysis and assumptions made around the cost and revenue streams of CS Energy and Stanwell including wholesale energy sales, retail revenue, forward contracts, coal revenue sharing, power station maintenance and operating costs. 

Read the full report below:

Australia has received the dubious honour of being awarded the international ‘Climate Fossil Award’ for failing to honour our climate commitments under the Paris Accord.

The Fossil of the Day Award is an initiative of the Climate Action Network International, who base the nominations on "particularly negative, obstructive, or generally unhelpful behavior of government delegations in relation to other Parties and progress on climate talks, the media, and the wider public".