CleanCo seeks another 3GW of wind and solar to boost pipeline to more than 5GW

Queensland’s CleanCo has put out a call for up to three gigawatts of new wind and solar projects as it looks to bulk up its green energy portfolio to more than 5GW, and as the state maps out a route to its target of 80 per cent renewables by 2035.

The state-owned CleanCo put out the call for registrations of interest this week, as it mulls opportunities for contracts and/or equity investments in new wind and solar projects.

The 3GW being sought in the new initiative is over and above the 2.3GW of new wind and solar targeted – and helped along with a $500 million state government injection of funds – earlier this year. The company already has more than 1GW of wind and solar capacity under contract with various projects.

“I’m incredibly proud to lead an organisation that has such an ambitious growth agenda,” CEO Tom Metcalfe said in a post to LinkedIn.

“We’re looking for renewable energy and firming projects that will help us reach our 2030 goals and contribute to Queensland’s clean energy future.

“This is a pivotal moment in our journey, and we’re excited to partner with innovative minds and organisations who share our vision and can help deliver the best sustainability solutions for our customers.”

Queensland has a target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030, jumping to 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035.

Renewables currently account for just 27 per cent of its annual demand, the lowest of any state, with 25 per cent from wind and solar. It remains the state with the highest share of coal generation, at around 70 per cent.

CleanCo has also recently looked to bulk up its storage capabilities, putting out a call for at least 400MW of around four hours storage to boost its capabilities at the Swanbank energy hub near Ipswich in the south of the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has declared the $14.2 billion Borumba pumped hydro project near Gympie to be a “co-ordinated” project, and says that exploratory works are under way.

The state government has placed this massive pumped hydro project, and another at Pioneer-Burdekin, as the centrepiece for its renewable plans, and has already set a giddy price tag, even before the inevitable cost over-runs that have afflicted the federal government’s Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project.

It says the Borumba project, which will have capacity of up to 2,000 MW and 24 hours of storage, will involve a new upper reservoir, and a new dam wall to replace the existing Borumba Dam wall. It will increase Lake Borumba’s storage capacity from 46 to 224 gigalitres.

It recently defended the cost of these pumped hydro projects, insisting that doing the same with the battery storage will cost $18 billion more – an unsettling echo of the sort of rhetoric that came from Snowy Hydro when it pitched its Snowy 2.0 project.

The government says geotechnical exploratory drilling has started on the project, which will help inform the EIS process. It is located in the southern end of the south east renewable energy zone.

“The Borumba project will be subject to our Queensland procurement policy which means we’re looking for Sunshine Coast companies and tradies to be part of this big build,” energy minister Mick de Brenni said in a state meant.

“Borumba will allow us to replace expensive fossil fuels with Queensland’s sun, wind, and water–putting the Sunshine State on the map as a global renewable energy hub.

“Pumped hydro is proven technology, ready to go now, and has been supercharged by a $19 billion investment in our Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, creating around 2000 local jobs and securing our renewable energy future.

“Because Queenslanders kept their energy network in public hands, they have the power like nowhere else in the nation to benefit from the clean energy transition.”