Key Takeaways
- Queensland’s government has cancelled multiple approved renewable energy projects, causing significant damage to investor sentiment.
- New regulations and the abandonment of key projects, such as the green hydrogen initiative, have led to a decline in Queensland’s attractiveness for renewable energy investments.
- The state has dropped from the top position to second place for renewable energy investment in Australia, according to the Clean Energy Investor Group.
The case for investing in Queensland renewable energy is now in real jeopardy as the latest project cancellation causes shockwaves among investors.
This week, the state government cancelled another already-approved wind project, this time claiming everything from a lack of community support to not moving quickly enough on a still-current planning approval, and not complying with new “minimum project requirements” only established this year.
It’s just the latest in a list of clean energy projects the state has axed or dismantled this year, moves that are causing real damage to investor sentiment. The state has also ripped up the renewable energy targets set by the previous Labor government.
“This week’s decision to pull legislation enabling the development of the 1.2GW Forest Wind project in a state forest – a monoculture with low biodiversity – creates uncertainty,” Westwind’s head of development Shane Quinnell wrote in a (since updated) LinkedIn post.
“Recently, investors were becoming cautiously optimistic that stability was returning and Queensland may truly be ‘open for business.’ Many bridges have been built through Treasurer Janetski’s hard work.
“Queensland needs to holistically clarify its decision on renewable energy and the many benefits it can bring to Queenslanders.
“Stability and certainty are [investors’] primary drivers. Investors will generally accept worse policy settings when stable. Renewable energy investors are resilient – after years of political fighting they have had to be. But they are human.
“Investors need clarity and consistency – a whole-of-government approach – to deliver the capital required for the State become Queensland’s energy anchor.”
Disastrous year for clean energy
So far this year the Queensland government has cancelled or killed off two approved wind farms on questionable grounds, the other being the $1 billion Moonlight Range project in May.
These are not the only actions driving investors out of the Sunshine State.
The government abandoned the state’s flagship green hydrogen project, causing it to collapse, and it put a new national battery hub in jeopardy by cutting $100 million in funding.
It has also introduced draconian new rules for renewable energy projects, and a promised energy roadmap is yet to appear while threats to repeal legislated renewable energy targets are still on the table.
These have sent Queensland plummeting down the ranks of places investors want to spend their cash.
By mid-2025, Queensland dropped to number two as a destination for renewable energy investors in the Clean Energy Investor Group’s (CEIG) annual survey, after holding a seemingly unassailable position at the top for years.
CEIG CEO Ritchie Merzian says the latest developments are worrying.
“When you have projects that were approved last year or years ago being wound back then it puts the case of Queensland in jeopardy,” he told Renew Economy.
“Policy certainty, legislative clarity, what’s happening on the energy plan, what’s happening on targets, all these things add up.”
This year, developers have submitted only 19 development applications for new solar and battery projects in Queensland, according to data from RenewMap.
In 2024, there were 52 development applications submitted and these included eight wind projects.
National damage
The government’s hostility towards renewable energy raises questions about what role its government-owned corporations are likely to play as they’ve been major investors in developing projects and power purchase agreements (PPAs) across the country.
Rystad analyst David Dixon told the Energy Insiders podcast that until this year, Queensland government-owned corporations were behind most of the new PPAs in Australia over the last few years.
Merzian is hopeful that private investors might have more opportunity in Queensland now, but admits that convincing those people their money is safe in the state is now difficult.
“The reality is you still need to build out clean energy at speed and scale in Queensland, and private investors will have an even greater role now the Queensland government is winding back some of the direct investments it was going to make in pumped hydro,” he says.
“We’re keen to work with the Queensland government on how to do that.”
“Evidence suggests there’s little hope that Queensland Liberals are likely to come to their senses on clean energy.”
Quinnell pointed out worrying language in the government’s press release – issued from the office of planning minister and deputy premier Jarrod Bliejie about the Forest Wind project this week.
“Oddly, the press release language the ‘reckless rush to renewables,’ is similar to anti-renewable groups like ‘Reckless Renewables,’ who spearheaded the Canberra rally earlier this year,” he said.
Clean Energy Finance director Tim Buckley said this week the state’s hostility to renewables is matched by a swing back to coal and the billionaires who want to see it revived.
Queensland’s climate in crisis
Most at risk from Queensland’s radical reversal of climate activism is the environment, which the state government’s own reporting shows is in dire trouble.
The latest State of the Environment Report shows three new regional species are now extinct in the wild. That brings the total known extinctions just in Queensland to 15.
Another 114 animal and plant species were listed as threatened over the last four years, bringing the total number to over 1000, thanks to sweeping deforestation, native forest logging, and climate change.
“The report makes it clear that deforestation, climate change, and human activity is to blame for this tragic loss of Queensland’s animals and plants,” said Queensland Conservation Council nature campaigner Natalie Frost in a statement.
“Queensland’s deforestation rate is the highest in Australia, five times that of New South Wales and rivalling global hotspots like Brazil. We know from the latest data that more than 300,000 hectares of forest and bushland is being cleared every year, primarily for grazing.
“In one year alone more than 70,000 hectares, or around 9400 Suncorp Stadiums, of pristine remnant forest is bulldozed – original Queensland woodland that provides important habitat for wildlife like greater gliders and koalas.
“Meanwhile, the State Government is preparing to intensify logging across Queensland’s beautiful native forests, putting iconic species that depend on old trees for hollows like the greater glider at risk of extinction.”
*Shane Quinnell’s LinkedIn post was updated after publication of this story. Some of the quotes originally used have been adjusted to reflect those changes.
