QUEENSLAND SETS AMBITIOUS TARGETS

Vestas wind turbine at Macarthur, Australia. Image Credit: Vestas Wind Systems A/S

The Sunshine State has set some ambitious targets in its efforts to go renewable. The state government target is 50% by 2030. 

RenewEconomy’s live feed indicates that as of 12 noon, the state is living up to its nickname, with 30% of its electricity coming from the sun. Still in the pipeline are wind farms which will balance up the nighttime load.

The government is aiming for 30% reduction in emissions below the 2005 level and net zero by 2050. Queensland has Australia’s only publicly owned renewable energy company Clean Co. Note that the Federal government of Australia still has not committed to this net zero target.

Queenslanders enjoy the world’s longest network of electric vehicle chargers (codenamed QESH). Eighteen new chargers are due to open soon — these will be built in inland towns to encourage electro tourism, extending the length of the highway to 3,800 km. I have sometimes wondered if there are more electric vehicle chargers than vehicles. I am assured by Transport Minister Mark Bailey that since 2017, vehicle numbers have grown 1,037 per cent — from 417 to 4,743. And that was to June 2021, just before the Tesla Model 3’s end-of-quarter rush - cleantechnica link - David Waterworth - link - more like this - link

QUEENSLAND - ZERO EMISSIONS TARGET

Queensland’s electricity grid will need to double in size to meet the growing need for zero emissions energy, according to the head of the state government’s leading clean energy utility.

Speaking at the online Queensland Smart Energy Summit on Tuesday, CleanCo chief executive Maia Schweitzer said the state has an ’embarrassment of riches’ that would allow it to take advantage of global commitments to reach zero net emissions.

“We see that on a global context, really gargantuan commitments that are being made by governments around the world, including the US government, the EU, countries in Asia,” Schweitzer said.

“If you think about that global context, Queensland really has a pretty unique, almost embarrassment of riches to make us successful in that global context.” - link