The Queensland Government has unveiled the first look at the future Stanwell Clean Energy Hub.
To begin the transformation of the Stanwell Clean Energy Hub, publicly owned energy company Stanwell Corporation will build the Future Energy and Innovation Training Hub (FEITH) valued at up to $100 million.
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The size of a shopping centre, the hub will provide the sandbox to test out innovative new energy technology including wind, solar, hydrogen and battery storage.
It will also provide a real-life, hands-on training environment for Queensland energy employees to develop the skills needed to work on renewable energy technologies.
The project is proposed to be delivered in phases, starting with the establishment of common infrastructure and civil works in late 2023.
Future phases include a skills academy and demonstration centre where the community can come to learn about new energy technologies. In its entirety, the project will cost over $100 million and be deployed over five years.
The Stanwell Power Station, with a capacity of 1,460MW, is located between the potential future Capricorn and Calliope Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) as outlined in Queensland’s Draft REZ Roadmap.
Those two zones alone are expected to connect between 1,900 and 3,800MW of installed generation, creating up to 650 construction jobs, supported by the Jobs Security Guarantee for the existing workforce.
Central Queensland’s REZ covers 10 local government areas and supports the region’s key industries of agriculture, construction, minerals processing, and manufacturing to meet their clean energy goals and demand from international markets.
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said, “The nation cannot meet its legislated emissions reduction targets without serious action in Queensland, so we are delivering the energy transition that Queenslanders and Australians voted for.
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“We’re so serious about our plan that we’re legislating our renewable energy targets—70% by 2032 and 80% by 2035—and putting our Jobs Security Guarantee into law.
“Our Queensland Draft Renewable Energy Zone Roadmap demonstrates our unique ability to deliver benefits for local communities through infrastructure, transport, housing and accommodation, workforce, supply chains, waste management, biodiversity protection other land uses, and social infrastructure, as well as local industry and First Nations considerations.”
