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Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has flagged regulatory reforms, more action by state-owned energy utilities and a push to prepare ‘clean energy plans’ for major residential and commercial developments as part of a plan to generate 2,635MW from clean energy by 2020.

In 2008, renewable energy accounted for about 6% (745MW) of Queensland’s total installed generation capacity, with more than half that derived from burning sugar-cane waste to generate electricity and useful heat (bagasse-fired cogeneration).

The renewable energy plan launched by Bligh yesterday, aims to ensure that Queensland positions itself as a “serious player” in the renewables sector, John Cole, head of the Office of Clean Energy, told CE Daily.

While the Rudd Government’s proposed Renewable Energy Target will provide a substantial incentive for new projects around Australia, its least-cost approach is likely to initially favour wind projects in southern states.

The Queensland plan is designed to assist solar and geothermal to come rapidly to the fore, while also fostering the development of wind projects in the state.

Regulatory reform package to be finalised this year

An initial component of the plan will be a “regulatory reform package” to remove or reduce impediments to new renewables projects and streamline planning processes.

This package will be delivered in 2009 based on options developed by a renewable energy regulatory taskforce, the plan says.

A key focus for the review will be scrutiny of the regulatory, technical and financial impediments that can hinder efforts to connect new projects to the electricity network.

The Government will also consider amending legislation governing the 71% of land in Queensland that is State-owned so that farmers with long-term leases can sub-lease to developers of wind farms and other renewable energy projects.

The Land Act 1994 currently requires that a lease be used only for the purpose for which it was issued.

Plan looks to state-owned utilities and developers

The plan notes that Government-owned energy corporations provide 55% of the State’s generating capacity but only about 28% of its renewable energy capacity.

It will require each of these corporations – Stanwell Energy, CS Energy, Tarong Energy, Ergon Energy, Energex and Powerlink – to annually submit a renewable energy network benefit statement detailing where deployment of renewable energy or demand management projects could help avoid building or upgrading electricity networks.

Cole said every megawatt of additional power demand deferred or avoided saved taxpayers about $3 million in electricity infrastructure development and noted the Government was likely to release an accompanying demand management strategy for the State by the end of the year.

In an effort to speed-up the deployment of clean energy technologies in major population growth hot spots, the plan also commits the Office of Clean Energy to working with developers and local governments to develop “clean energy plans” for all new master-planned communities, large-scale commercial developments and government infrastructure services.

Solar thermal park

The plan flags a pre-feasibility study into a large-scale concentrated solar thermal park, to be prepared with the assistance of the Clinton Foundation, with the first stage of the study to be completed this year.

Other components of the renewable energy plan include:

• encouraging the creation of consortia to deploy small-scale (5MW to 20MW) solar thermal plants throughout regional Queensland;
• investigating the construction of a large-scale demonstration geothermal project by 2014; and
• establishing pilot renewable energy priority zones.

By 2020, the State Government estimates wind could generate up to 750MW (up from 12MW in 2008), biomass 645MW (up from 415MW), 500MW of energy to heat water could come from solar (up from 144MW), geothermal could generate up to 250MW (up from zero), hydro could provide 200MW (up from 169MW) and solar PV could provide 40MW (up from 6MW).

The State Government also wants to leverage funding available through the $4.5 billion Clean Energy Initiative announced by Treasurer Wayne Swan in the this year’s Budget (see related article).

“The Office of Clean Energy will assist industry proponents form constructive partnerships to access this funding,” the plan says.

The renewable energy plan builds on existing measures including the solar hot water program (see related article), $50 million renewable energy fund and solar PV feed-in tariff scheme.

Source:  http://www.cedaily.com.au