Queensland government-owned CleanCo posted a net annual loss after it abandoned plans to buy a large wind farm and convert a gold mine into a pumped hydro project, and began work to extend a gas-fired power station by 20 years.
CleanCo’s 2025-2026 results, tabled in parliament at the end of last week, revealed a loss “from ordinary activities” after tax of $22.9 million, compared with a $17.8 profit for the previous year.
Contributing to the reversal was a drop of about 40% in wholesale electricity prices, to an average of $65.47 per megawatt-hour.
“This [drop] was due to a significant influx of utility-scale batteries during the year, along with favourable conditions for wind and solar generation, and improved reliability of thermal generation assets,” CleanCo said.
“Evening peak prices were significantly lower and price volatility was limited even during periods of higher demand.”
The Corporation’s earnings before earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $122.3m, or little changed from the previous year’s EBITDA profit of $118.5m.
CleanCo’s results were affected by improved reliability at fellow state-owned CS Energy, which reported improved performance of its thermal plants. Its net loss narrowed in part because of an insurance payout for a coal-fired unit that was hit by an explosion in 2021.
For CleanCo, though, the past year represented a shift in priorities as its sought to realign operations in line with the Energy Roadmap released by Liberal-Nationals state government. The roadmap seeks to extend the lift of coal and gas plants, and give a lower priority to renewable energy even with Queensland abundant solar and wind resources.
“With Queensland’s energy landscape changing significantly over the past year, in FY26 we made the decision not to pursue several proposed projects, including the NAS Battery at Swanbank and Moah Creek Wind Farm project.,” CleanCo’s report stated.
The corporation announced in January it dropped the opportunity to buy the 360MW Moah Creek wind farm in January, and instead signed a tiny offtake deal with an almost 10 year-old wind farm.
Plans for the Mount Rawdon Pumped Hydro project in a former gold mine were also ditched after an assessment by Queensland Investment Corporation.
CleanCo, though, commenced planning to assess the potential extension of the operating life of its 385MW gas peaking plant, Swanbank E, beyond its currently scheduled closure in 2036.
“Supported by the Energy Roadmap, the assessment is considering a range of technical, operational and commercial scenarios to determine the feasibility, costs and benefits of extending the station’s operating life by up to 20 years,” the annual report said.
“The outcomes of this work will help inform decisions on the future role Swanbank E could play in supporting Queensland’s reliable and secure energy transition.”
The annual report also noted that construction of the 250MW/500MWh Swanbank Battery had been completed and it had commenced trading in the National Electricity Market.
The commissioning of the battery took place in February, on the site of a former coal generation hub. CleanCo also provided a table of its renewable energy ventures.
CleanCo’s sustainability report also detailed some the risks likely with climate change.
“Rising temps are expected to increase cooling loads and alter [the] demand profile for pumped hydro assets while also de-rating [combined cycle gas turbines] output,” it said. “This increases operating costs and may reduce effective generation capacity.”
In addition, “[a]cute physical events, including bushfire, flood, cyclone and heatwave, currently managed through operational resilience procedures, may cause unplanned outages, lost revenue and increased maintenance costs”.
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