Solar to drive a clean energy Queensland

The Palaszczuk Government has unveiled the next steps in building the Solar State,announcing today that the renewable energy auction promised at the last election will exceed their election commitment of 40 megawatts by 50 per cent, and will also now be for solar projects only.

Minister for Energy and Water Supply Mark Bailey said that the announcement of a solar only focus will promote further investment into renewable energy developments.

“I am delighted to say that we will be collaborating with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to deliver this exciting initiative,” Mr Bailey said.

“By supporting up to 60 megawatts of extra capacity, we’re aiming to drive significant growth in large-scale solar generation in this state.”

Mr Bailey said developing and expanding Queensland’s renewable energy industry is a central component of the State Government’s energy policy agenda.

“Under the previous LNP Government we saw the renewable energy sector workforce lose around 1300 jobs over three years,” he said.

“Increasing the uptake of renewable energy in the Sunshine State will not only be good for the environment, but will also create new jobs and diversify the economy.

“Queensland has some of the best solar resources in the world and is ideally placed to benefit as solar generation becomes an increasingly important part of Australia’s electricity generation mix.”

Mr Bailey said the Queensland Productivity Commission had also now received the Terms of Reference to commence a public review into a fair price for the cost of solar energy sold back into the electricity grid by homes and small businesses.

“We want a fair price for customers regardless of whether a system is installed or is planned to be installed,” Mr Bailey said.

“The review’s findings will further support the take up of solar as we push towards one million rooftops, or 3,000 megawatts of solar PV capacity by 2020.

“This process will run concurrently with the recent announcement of Ergon Energy’s 150 megawatt large scale renewable Expression of Interest, and will help drive an unprecedented amount of renewable energy investment into the Queensland market.”

ENDS

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                                 Alex Chamberlain – 0406 544 142