Queensland more than ready to meet future electricity demand

Minister for Mines and Energy Geoff Wilson said Queensland had ample generating capacity to meet its electricity demand now and well into the future.

The Minister was responding to the release of the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) annual Statement of Opportunities, which examines the supply and demand of electricity across the national grid.

The report stated that Queensland continues to have strong growth in electricity demand and that current and committed generating capacity was adequate to meet demand until 2009/2010.

“While there will be a need for additional generating capacity well down the track, there are a number of significant projects under consideration in Queensland.

“Queensland has more than adequate generating capacity to meet demand and this has enabled our state to export electricity to New South Wales in accordance with National Electricity Market arrangements.

“Queensland has already taken action to meet the expected growth. The 450 megawatt Braemar power station near Dalby was opened by the Premier in August this year.

“Late next year, we expect the 750 megawatt Kogan Creek power station near Chinchilla to start operations.

“That’s a lot of extra supply for Queensland. Our current capacity is around 10,900 megawatts compared to a maximum demand in February this year of 8,295 megawatts.

“In addition to our existing capacity, there is a significant number of new projects in the pipeline.

“These include the 1,000 megawatt Spring Gully proposal by Origin Energy, the Australian Gas Light company’s 370 megawatt proposal near Townsville, and a number of other projects, which if found to be commercially viable, will deliver an additional 2,000 megawatts,” Mr Wilson said.

“If these proposals are approved they will provide more than enough electricity to meet the expected growth in demand. This translates to a total of more than 3,000 megawatts on the drawing board, well in excess of the projected growth in demand of up to four per cent per year.

“NEMMCO only considered committed plans in its assessment. It did not take into account any of the current project proposals such as the 1,000 MW Spring Gully project.

The Minister said the NEMMCO report identified potential new interconnector projects, including an upgrade of the Queensland – New South Wales interconnector.

“Powerlink Queensland and its New South Wales counterpart TransGrid are currently working together on a study to determine the commercial viability of the proposed upgrade.

“Results of this study are expected to be known by the end of the year,” he said.

“If it gets the green light, this could open up additional opportunities for extra power generation in Queensland and the sale of electricity to New South Wales.

“It will also boost our ability to share generation reserves with New South Wales in times of peak demand or unexpected outages of generating capacity,” he said.

Media Inquiries: Ellen McIntyre 3225 1819