The Australian state aims renewables to account for 50% of its energy mix in the next 10 years
Queensland allocates $368.9m investment to support development of renewable energy projects. (Credit: Kenueone from Pixabay)
The Queensland government has announced an investment of A$500m ($368.98m) to support the development of renewable energy projects in the Australian state.
The investment under the Renewable Energy Fund has been announced as part of the state’s 2020-21 budget.
According to Queensland Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni, renewables currently constitute nearly 20% of the state’s energy mix.
The figure is expected to more than double in the next 30 years with the government targeting an energy mix of 50% with renewables by 2030.
De Brenni said: “Queenslanders emphatically support more manufacturing and growth and that means we need cheaper power to support jobs growth in these emerging industries.
“We’re backing this by backing cheaper, cleaner, reliable energy sources.”
Queensland injecting $1.47bn into its energy assets
The minister further said that across the entire state-owned fleet, the Queensland government is injecting more than A$2bn ($1.47bn) into its energy assets.
De Brenni said that the Queensland government-owned energy businesses Cleanco, CS Energy, Energy Queensland, Stanwell, and Powerlink can get their share of the new funding. This will enable them to construct and operate their own renewable assets and transmission infrastructure.
The minister also expects the Renewable Energy Fund to pave way for the start of the next generation of renewable projects in the coming four years.
The new funding is on top of an A$145m ($104m) investment announced by the Queensland government in August 2020 for unlocking three renewable energy zones in the southern, central, and northern parts of the state.
De Brenni said: “Already investors are lining up to get into these renewable energy zones with around 192 projects putting their hands up to build new, renewable generation and energy storage projects across the state.”
In the last five years, Queensland has witnessed the launch of 44 large-scale renewable energy projects. These represent an investment of nearly A$8.5bn ($6.27bn), while creating close to 7,000 construction jobs.