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Jacqui Bridge
- Much of the transmission, new generation and storage infrastructure will be distributed
across regions in Queensland.
- Host communities are critical to delivering this infrastructure – so it is critical to develop
these projects in collaboration with community.
- There is a clear need to effectively engage with community and be very transparent as we develop projects and leverage community input throughout their delivery.
- In doing this, Powerlink has developed a range of frameworks and partnerships over
recent years.
- But expectations are continuously rising, and we’re running to keep up with the level of
engagement and expectations.
- We have a First Nations leadership group to assist with First Nations issues.
- We work closely with the Energy Charter and have helped develop codes of conduct and
engagement guidelines.
- But there remains complexity and some confusion in communities about who the different parties are and what their engagement is about.
- We need to make it easier for communities to understand this, and the broader industry
must work together to improve transparency and coordinate community input.
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The recent Queensland Energy Roadmap and National Electricity Market review have both indicated
that there is a role for natural gas to firm renewables. What do you think is needed to supply the
growing demand for gas to firm renewable energy both here and overseas?
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Dan Clark
- First, I see the Queensland Energy Roadmap as a very pragmatic, reasonable and logical
plan which recognises the key role gas will play in the transition.
- Gas-powered generation is projected to grow from 3.5 GW to over 8 GW in the next
decade - around 13% annual growth.
- Peak gas demand expected to rise from around 300 terajoules/day to over 1 petajoule/
day in that timeframe.
- As wind and solar continue to expand, the need for firming capacity will also grow; gas
will provide that reliability when renewables can’t.
- The southern gas market on the east coast faces challenges, creating additional demand
for gas and infrastructure.
- We’ll need significant pipeline and storage investment, supported by strong planning and
coordination between industry and government.
- Effective collaboration will be essential to ensure gas supports the system throughout
the transition.
- There has been strong engagement from Queensland Treasury and the Resources
Minister in developing the Roadmap, and we look forward to continuing that engagement
as we implement the plan and meet the state’s future energy needs.
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What are the key investment risks you see in Queensland’s energy transition?
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John Carr
- As an investor, every risk is also an opportunity.
- There are two relevant risks to discuss: targets and time.
- Firstly, the target landscape for investment has shifted significantly over the past
12 months.
- These have previously focused on large state-owned pumped hydro, coal closures and
rapid onshore wind and hydrogen rollout.
- Those targets are now changing, presenting both risk and opportunity.
- The pragmatic approach being taken in Queensland is positive, but this means we need
to reposition investments accordingly.
- For investors who have already committed capital, this change creates new risks that
must be understood and managed.
- Secondly, time is the most valuable resource - it’s incompressible.
- You can add money or people, but you can’t add time.
- Capital doesn’t wait - from raising to deployment to return, investments follow
a fixed timeline.
- Large infrastructure projects are particularly exposed to these time pressures, particularly
as the changing target landscape requires reimagining what projects and investments
look like.
- With QIC joining to provide an investment lens to the transition, there’s a great
opportunity, but also risk, as time keeps ticking on the transition imperative.
- Additionally, the grid challenges we face are ongoing, and time remains the critical factor
in addressing them.
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In his Energy Roadmap speech, the Treasurer spoke about well-located fringe-of-grid and remote
generation playing an important role in Queensland’s energy future. Do you agree with this? What kind of benefits can such generation bring?
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James Harman
- The Queensland Government’s Energy Roadmap rightly focuses on diverse energy
sources to guide us through the transition.
- The National Electricity Market (NEM) is long, complex and highly volatile - the most
volatile in the world.
- Events in one part of the grid – such as a power station outage in Sydney - can impact
supply and prices across multiple states, including Queensland.
- As summer approaches, major generators coordinate closely with governments to keep
the lights on - it’s a difficult and delicate balance.
- Traditionally, power stations were built near major cities and coal sources. But now,
industries and communities are expanding far from those traditional power hubs, creating
transmission challenges.
- Powerlink’s role (Jackie’s work) is to extend transmission to these regions, but we can ease that burden by producing energy closer to load - off-grid or at the fringe of the grid.
- This approach reduces the need for long, costly transmission lines, providing reliable, cheaper and more sustainable power.
- The Queensland Government’s focus on the North West Mineral Province is very welcome.
- The region is rich in critical minerals and rare earths but lacks energy infrastructure.
- Many junior mining companies want to develop projects that would create regional jobs and economic benefits, but power access is a barrier.
- Power access could be achieved using modular, purpose-built hybrid power systems (solar, wind, battery, plus thermal backup).
- This will help new industries emerge and existing diesel-reliant industries transition to more sustainable power.
- EDL already operates hybrid renewable power stations supplying mines and communities in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
- We aim to work hand-in-hand with the Queensland Government to unlock the potential of the North West Mineral Province and other remote regions.
- We welcome the $200 million Northwest Energy Plan fund, designed to support fringe-of-grid and off-grid energy development.
- Though details are still emerging, we’re confident of strong collaboration with the state government and QIC.
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Are there any particular regulatory or legislative changes that could streamline our ability to accelerate the energy transition in Queensland?
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Jacqui Bridge
- Regulatory and legislative requirements for infrastructure are voluminous and complex -a core challenge for transmission developers.
- We are a mostly regulated network and must navigate the regulatory framework to justify investment.
- Almost every state has introduced alternative investment pathways (different to the National Electricity Rules), creating opportunities and risks and a more anticipatory view of transmission needs.
- This diversifies and complicates the NEM, with different investment pathways across jurisdictions.
- Any project faces a myriad of requirements: planning approvals, environmental approvals, technical standards and increasing engagement requirements, plus expanding codes and guidelines.
- This means projects are taking longer to deliver than before.
- Time is money - uncertainty from complex, multi-layered (federal, state, local) processes vary across states, creating timeline uncertainty.
- We need to streamline because delivery timelines aren’t matching the urgency.
- From a transmission perspective, Central Queensland-Gladstone is critical. The government will use the Queensland Priority Transmission Investment Framework to streamline legislative amendments and provide clear signals that help reduce uncertainty and accelerate delivery.
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What role should governments play in supporting energy investment?
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John Carr
- Before answering, I’d like to pose a question: how much is a blackout worth?
When and where is it worth the most?
- If we can answer that, we can send a clear market signal - one of the first things
investors need.
- The Energy Roadmap, supported by Treasury modellers and Powerlink, has started to
address this through economic modelling.
- As we transition from coal and gas to variable renewables, we’ll inevitably face supply
gaps when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing.
- The key question becomes: what’s the value of those ‘holes’ in the market?
- Currently, no clear value is placed on them - if government can quantify and signal that
value, investors can make informed decisions and price their returns accordingly.
- The second element is co-investment.
- I’m not referring to equity, but rather early-stage development investment, where
government and private sector share risk.
- To address this risk, it’s critical to work with Powerlink and the Office of the Coordinator-General (OCG). This is a measured, collaborative process and is essential for long-term success.
- This is because some past projects rushed ahead without that coordination, and industry
is now paying the price.
- Early co-investment and coordination help de-risk development and should come with
shared upside and downside - government should receive a return if successful and share
the loss if not.
- To this end, the Energy Roadmap and Renewable Investment Fund are strong signals
that build investor confidence, demonstrating the government’s willingness to partner and support the transition.
- The key will be for government to stay the course, as project timelines are often much
longer than political cycles.
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The Treasurer has welcomed private generation investment. Are there areas where that private
investment makes most sense? What actions can the Government take to encourage this investment
taking place?
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James Harman
- Policy certainty is critical to attract private investment into Queensland’s energy system.
- The private sector brings capital and expertise - complementary to government-owned
corporations - drawing on experience from across Australia and globally.
- Queensland’s energy sector is heavily government-owned (generation, distribution,
transmission), which limits areas where the private sector can participate.
- For example - EDL has built, owned and operated hybrid renewable power stations
(up to 75% renewable fraction) for remote industry and communities across Australia.
- These are microgrids, far from the main grid where we’ve put our capital at risk and
successfully operated for 15 years in some locations.
- However, it is more difficult to do this for Queensland communities because that’s
Ergon’s role.
- We’re asking for the opportunity to compete - to tender alongside Ergon - so government
can choose private capital and expertise to support remote regional opportunities, bringing our experience to benefit Queensland.
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The LNG industry recently marked ten years of operating in Queensland. What regulatory changes
have occurred in your time at APLNG and what has this meant for commitments here in Queensland to supply gas for manufacturing and energy?
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Dan Clark
- For context, around 75% of east coast gas is exported, and the remaining 25% serves the
domestic market.
- Southern states have prohibited/restricted development, reducing local supply near
demand centres and stressing the system.
- International price spikes (e.g., Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) have flowed through to
Australia, resulting in supply/price shocks which triggered significant, piecemeal market
interventions. These have been focused on where uncontracted gas goes and how
it’s priced.
- These interventions and the threat of price controls have deterred investment,
exacerbating supply decline and system pressure.
- Another major unresolved issue has been domestic-market gas being bought for export,
further tightening supply and raising prices.
- To address this, the Federal Government has initiated a review of the gas regulatory
framework which is currently underway.
- While we don’t like interventions, it is clear that a major reset is needed. This could take
the form of an export permit system, where, if you export, you must also contribute to the
domestic market (deliver domestically first).
- This would improve incentives and certainty for exporters and the broader market.
- Ideally this would have been done upfront (before investment occurred), but rules have
changed which has already impacted investments. However, there remains need for a
reset to reduce risk to Australia’s gas supply and export contracts.
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The Energy Roadmap in Queensland and Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan
indicate that we need a broad range of both generation and storage assets to ensure an ongoing, reliable and secure supply of electricity for customers. Are there any particular generation or storage technology types that we haven’t been focusing on which you think we should?
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James Harman
- The panel discussion so far highlights how critical regulation is - and how complex the
transition is.
- Other regions with less wind/solar have succeeded by using policy and regulatory settings that open opportunities for all technologies.
- Europe strongly supports biogas (e.g., anaerobic digestion and landfill gas).
- In the US, consistent regulations have supported renewable gas despite shifting administrations.
- This has seen renewable gas - methane from landfill/waste - injected into pipelines. This is
fungible with natural gas – it decarbonises industry and transport (nearly all US transport gas is renewable) and lets utilities offer renewable gas to households and commercial users.
- EDL has invested about $1 billion in the US, building five renewable gas plants with around 7 PJ of capacity into the US pipeline network. This has been enabled by policy and regulatory certainty.
- Australia isn’t there yet, but green shoots exist. Victoria, New South Wales and the
Commonwealth Governments have signalled green gas targets/credits and broader renewable fuels support on the horizon.
- We need regulatory certainty that doesn’t change, because we make 20–30-year bets on
these investments.
- Beyond batteries and pumped hydro to firm renewable generation, we can use waste gas from coal mines and landfill gas to generate power close to load under various schemes.
- Additionally, hybrid renewables (solar/wind/battery + thermal backup) built close to load – such as in the North West Mineral Province – can serve local demand and relieve grid pressure, vital as data centres will increase demand on an already stretched grid.
- This will require a mindset shift around how we can supplement large coal and gas with a full toolkit of technologies, so Queensland delivers sustainable, reliable and cost-effective power.
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In the organisations that you represent and the role that you play, what is the top priority issue that you’re currently focusing on?
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Jacqui Bridge
- From a transmission perspective, the Central Queensland reinforcement (Gladstone Project) is critical.
- Gladstone is Queensland’s second-largest load centre, hosting major industry, jobs and economic activity.
- We must ensure a safe, reliable, sustainable energy supply to the region - this project enables that.
- Queensland is a land of abundance - our job is to leverage it to unlock sustainable energy supply.
- There are many possible solutions to achieve this, and we must review assumptions and adapt to a new landscape to find the right ones to address the challenges we face.
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James Harman
- Our highest priority at EDL is our people and safety.
- This is a constant challenge with 80 power stations across five countries, many in remote locations.
- Safety is our number one focus and something that keeps the leadership team awake at night.
- Additionally, our biggest challenge is continuing to innovate as markets evolve.
- Over 40 years, EDL has grown from an innovative entrepreneurial startup (founded by two
people) to a global company of over 600 people.
- We now operate across five countries - including major investments in the US, UK and Canada.
- We sell 10 different products in 16 markets worldwide - Queensland is just one of them.
- The question is how to keep innovating to stay ahead (or at least on par) with the competition in every market.
- Managing this global spread and innovation pressure is a constant focus for the executive team.
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John Carr
- If the Queensland Energy Roadmap is the ‘what’, then how we deliver it is key.
- This involves working with QIC and the Queensland Government to ensure:
- the right technologies types are evaluated properly, both economically and commercially;
- we maintain social and environmental licenses responsibly, while staying commercially viable;
- projects are deployed efficiently and on time; and
- effective collaboration with GOCs, OCG and Powerlink – who are essential partners in
Queensland’s energy system.
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Dan Clark
- Safety is a top priority - we operate 3,000 wells, which includes compression horsepower,
pipelines and a major hazard LNG facility.
- Ensuring our people are protected and our product stays in the pipe is our core value.
- From a business perspective, the focus is on the gas market review and securing the right policy settings – which is essential to place the market on a sustainable growth trajectory.
- Currently, we’re not on a sustainable path, so correcting that is a top priority.
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