The Queensland Government will develop three Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), located in northern, central and southern Queensland. The REZs are intended to encourage investment in renewable generation and storage projects.
Indicative locations of potential REZ development have been identified based on network capacity, project pipeline and land use analysis. There are currently 12 potential REZs in Queensland across the planning and in-flight phases.
Potential REZs include:
- Southern Queensland REZs - Southern Downs REZ (in-flight), Western Downs REZ (in-flight), Woolooga REZ (planning), Darling Downs REZ (planning), Tarong REZ (planning.)
- Central Queensland REZs - Callide REZ (planning), Calliope REZ (planning), Isaac REZ (planning), Capricorn REZ (planning).
- North and Far North Queensland REZs - Far North Queensland REZ (in-flight), Collinsville REZ (planning), Flinders REZ (planning).
These preliminary locations represent the REZ connection to the shared network, and as each REZ is declared for consultation and development, the specific locations will be further defined.
Powerlink is the REZ Delivery Body responsible for coordinating renewable project connection to the transmission network.
Key Dates
| Aug 2020 | Project Announcement |
| Sep 2020 | ROIs opened and closed |
Funding contributions
| Queensland Government | |
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In their COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan (Budget 2021-2022), the Queensland Government committed $145 million to establish 3 Queensland Renewable Energy Zones in southern, central, and northern Queensland. The Queensland Government allocated $6 million in July 2023 to undertake a strategic assessment of the three regions. |
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Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Powerlink |
| Tenderers (EOI/ROI): | ROIs opened for proponents interested in developing projects in the Northern, Central and Southern REZs, in September 2020, closing on 25 September. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Aug 2020 | The Queensland Government committed $145 million to support network upgrades and streamline the development of new renewable generation projects in the Renewable Energy Zones. |
| Aug 2021 | The Queensland Government commenced consultation on the development of its three QREZs, seeking feedback from local communities, small business, manufacturers and renewables and hydrogen project developers on how the QREZs can provide community benefits and deliver positive economic outcomes. |
| Jul 2023 | The Queensland Government released the draft 2023 Queensland Renewable Energy Zone Roadmap which identifies an adapted framework and definition of a Renewable Energy Zone. |
| Jul 2023 | The Queensland Government announced that they have allocated approximately $6 million to undertake an initial Strategic REZ Readiness Assessment of the three regions where REZs will be developed. |
| Dec 2023 | The draft 2024 Integrated System Plan identifies the Darling Downs REZ Expansion and Facilitating Power to Central Queensland projects as future ISP projects. The Darling Downs REZ Expansion is expected to enable additional renewable generation to be dispatched in the Darling Downs REZ. The optimal timing has been identified as 2034-35, and the earliest feasible full capacity timing 2027-28. The estimated cost is $28 million (+/- 50%). The Facilitating Power to Central Queensland project is expected to improve capacity by 400 MW across Northern Queensland, facilitate transmission of generation to load centres in Central Queensland via a 275 kV circuit, and support further renewable generation to be dispatched across Isaac and Barcaldine REZ. The optimal timing has been identified as 2035-36, and the earliest feasible full capacity timing 2030-31. The estimated cost is $173 million (+/- 50%). |
| Mar 2024 | The Queensland Government released its Queensland Renewable Energy Zone Roadmap. The Roadmap has been developed in line with the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan to meet the State’s renewable energy targets of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, 70 per cent by 2032, and 80 per cent by 2035. The Roadmap identifies 12 renewable energy zones (REZs) located primarily in the eastern part of the State and running from Far North Queensland to the border of NSW. It is expected that the REZs will provide 22 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable generation capacity by 2035. |
| Apr 2024 | The Queensland Government passed the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act 2024, which which establishes frameworks for REZs including their declaration and management plans. |
| Jun 2024 | AEMO's 2024 ISP identified that the Far North Queensland Renewable Energy Zones' transmission network would be operational in June 2024, later than the draft ISP's advised date of April 2024. The project involves upgrading the existing 132-kilovolt transmission line to operate at 275 kilovolts. The ISP also announced the Facilitating Power to Central Queensland project's optimal timing has been brought forward to 2033-34 from 2035-36 in the draft 2024 ISP. |
