As Australians on the East Coast face rising energy costs, unexpected outages have been cited in a handful of Queensland coal-fired power plants as part of the problem.
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni told ABC Radio Brisbane this week that while there was no shortage of energy, the cost of the market was the real issue.
“We have here in Queensland the prevailing global circumstances affecting electricity prices,” Mr. of Brenni.
“The best thing we can do here in Queensland is to achieve energy independence … by continuing to invest in more renewable energy and storage.”
How many coal-fired power plants are there in Queensland?
Queensland’s eight coal-fired power plants are located on the south corner of the state, from Rockhampton to west Toowoomba.
They are complemented by a number of renewable energy projects and gas-fired power plants, including Swanbank E, which is currently offline.
Queensland has eight coal-fired power plants statewide. (ABC News: Peter Mullins)
The state-owned Stanwell Power Station is located in Rockhampton. The 1,460-megawatt subcritical station is powered by Curragh Mine and is scheduled to close between 2043-2046.
Queensland also owns the two Tarong power plants south of Burnett. Both the Tarong 1,400-megawatt subcritical power plant and the Tarong North supercritical, a single 443-megawatt unit, will be shut down in 2036-37.
Queensland’s oldest and largest coal-fired power plant is the Gladstone Subcritical Power Plant, commissioned in 1976 and owned by NRG Gladstone Operating Services.
The 1,680-megawatt Gladstone Power Plant has six units, powered by the Rolleston Coal Mine, 200 miles west of Rockhampton. It is scheduled to close in 2035.
The Callide B and C subcritical power plants near Biloela are owned by CS Energy, also wholly owned by the state government. Callide B was commissioned in 1988, and Callide C in 2001.
The 740-megawatt Callide B is scheduled to close in 2028, but a closing date for the 840-megawatt Callide C has not yet been announced. Both stations are fed by the nearby Calide mine.
Meandu Mine and Tarong Power Plants in 2016. (ABC News: Ellie Sibson)
CS Energy also owns the Kogan Creek supercritical power plant, a 750-megawatt station near Chinchilla. He is also one of the youngest in Queensland, commissioned in 2007.
Kogan Creek has the largest single generation unit in Australia and, according to CS Energy, has the lowest environmental impacts of coal-fired power plants nationwide. Kogan Creek is fed by the nearby Kogan Creek mine and is scheduled to close in 2042.
West of Toowoomba, the Millmerran supercritical power plant has been operating since 2003 and has a capacity of 852 megawatts. It is owned by global electricity company InterGen.
Millmerran is scheduled to close in 2051.
How many are currently in operation?
Last year, Unit 4 of the Callide C power plant exploded, causing massive power outages in Queensland.
This unit will not be online again until April next year, says operator CS Energy.
CS Energy posted a photo showing damage to the C4 unit at the Callide power plant following the plant fire on May 25, 2021. (Supplied by: CS Energy)
De Brenni said there had also been “minor” disruptions at the Stanwell Power Station, aggravated by disruptions at the Swanbank E gas station.
Stanwell is also scheduled for major maintenance between June 26 and August 22 this year.
The Tarong power plant will have to undergo major maintenance between 9 September and 21 October.
In 2020, the Australian Institute’s Climate and Energy program published a study showing that Queensland’s gas and coal-fired power plants had 93 unplanned breakdowns between December 2017 and December 2019, out of a total of 227 breakdowns nationwide.
Are we building new coal plants?
Two proposals for new coal-fired power plants in Queensland still have important questions about them.
Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal wants to build a $ 3.5 billion, 1,400-megawatt new power plant in the Galilee Basin. The proposal was called by Deputy Prime Minister Steven Miles last year.
Coal is a key industry in Queensland. (Supplied)
Another proposed 1,000-megawatt power plant in Collinsville, west of Airlie Beach, was awarded several million by the former Coalition federal government for feasibility studies.
The Collinsville plan was presented by Shine Energy, a company owned by local traditional homeowners.
The new Labor federal government has not yet made any indication as to whether it will offer more support to the project.
How much pollution do they emit?
The Clean Energy Regulator publishes annual data on emissions from the electricity sector.
Queensland recorded the highest amount of emissions of scope 1 in all states and territories in 2020-21, accounting for 29.1% of emissions nationwide, as well as the highest net energy consumption.
Greenhouse gases are calculated using a single unit: “t CO2-e”. This means one metric ton