CleanCo Queensland is a Queensland Government-owned corporation. CleanCo owns and operates a range of electricity generation assets in Queensland, including run-of-the-river and pumped-storage hydroelectricity, gas-fired power plants, grid-scale solar farms and wind farms. The Queensland Government has a long-term ambition to generate 50 per cent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. [1] CleanCo was established in 2018. [2]
The two ministers responsible for CleanCo are the Treasurer of Queensland and the Minister for Energy and Clean Economy Jobs. The company was launched with an initial $250 million grant to develop 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity. [2]
CleanCo Queensland was created through the transfer of assets from CS Energy and Stanwell Corporation by the state government, with a mandate to increase competition in the energy market and with the intent of supporting the government's renewable energy target. [3]
The assets transferred from the two other government-owned corporations are:
CleanCo took control of these assets on 31 October 2019. [4]
CleanCo is establishing the Swanbank Clean Energy Hub at the site of the former Swanbank Power Station. The hub features a 250 MW/500 MWh big battery, an onsite solar farm and green hydrogen production facilities. [5]
Maia Schweizer was the inaugural CEO of CleanCo. [6] Tom Metcalfe took over the role in July 2022. [7]
The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek Dam is situated in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about 100 metres (330 ft) above it. The power station is the only pumped storage hydroelectric plant in Queensland.
ActewAGL is an Australian multi-utility joint venture company provides utility services in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and south-east New South Wales. The company was formed in October 2000 between the Australian Gas Light Company and ACTEW Corporation.
Stanwell Corporation is a Queensland Government-owned corporation. Stanwell is the state's largest electricity generator and Australia’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter.
AGL Energy Ltd is an Australian listed public company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. It is one of the "big three" retailers in the National Electricity Market. AGL is Australia's largest electricity generator, and the nation's largest carbon emitter. In 2022, 83% of its energy came from burning coal.
Solar power is a major contributor to electricity supply in Australia. As of December 2023, Australia's over 3.69 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 34.2 GW photovoltaic (PV) solar power. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 12.4% of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2021.
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is a topic that came to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European, and even global standards, with the most important potential sources being wind, wave, and tide. Renewables generate almost all of Scotland's electricity, mostly from the country's wind power.
Renewable energy in Australia is mainly based on biomass, solar, wind, and hydro generation. Over a third of electricity is generated from renewables, and is increasing, with a target to phase out coal power before 2040. Wind energy and rooftop solar have particularly grown since 2010. The growth has been stimulated by government energy policy in order to limit the rate of climate change in Australia that has been brought about by the use of fossil fuels. Pros and cons of various types of renewable energy are being investigated, and more recently there have been trials of green hydrogen and wave power.
Kidston Dam also known as Copperfield Dam is a dam in Lyndhurst, Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Hughenden and was built for the Kidston Gold Mine. The mine closed July 2001. The lake created by the dam has a capacity of 20,600 megalitres.
Renewable energy in Canada represented 17.3% of the Total Energy Supply (TES) in 2020, following natural gas at 39.1% and oil at 32.7% of the TES.
India is 5th globally for installed hydroelectric power capacity. As of 31 March 2020, India's installed utility-scale hydroelectric capacity was 46,000 MW, or 12.3% of its total utility power generation capacity. Additional smaller hydroelectric power units with a total capacity of 4,683 MW have been installed. India's hydroelectric power potential is estimated at 148,700 MW at 60% load factor. In the fiscal year 2019–20, the total hydroelectric power generated in India was 156 TWh with an average capacity factor of 38.71%.
Approximately 44% of primary energy is from renewable energy sources in New Zealand. Approximately 87% of electricity comes from renewable energy, primarily hydropower and geothermal power.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is an independent agency of the Australian federal government, established in 2012 to manage Australia's renewable energy programs, with the objective of increasing supply and competitiveness of Australian renewable energy sources.
The electricity sector in Australia has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply. In 2021, Australia's electricity production reached 265 TWh, with coal accounting for 52.9% and natural gas for 18.8%. Renewable sources, comprising solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy with waste, collectively made up 26.7% of the total electricity generation mix.
Neoen is a French producer of exclusively renewable energy headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 2008, it develops, finances, builds and operates solar power plants, onshore wind farms and energy storage solutions. As at 31 December 2023, the company's total capacity was 8 GW, made up of 50% solar, 30% wind and 20% battery storage. Neoen aims to attain 10 GW in operation or under construction by 2025.
Kidston Solar Project is a photovoltaic solar power station built on top of the former Kidston Gold Mine utilising the tailings storage facility in northern Queensland, Australia. The project consists of two solar farms, KS1 and KS2. The Kidston Solar Project is the first of four projects that comprise the Kidston Clean Energy Hub also occupying this area. A 250 megawatt (MW) hydro-pumped storage power generation project and a 150 MW wind farm make up the third and forth components. The site is located close to an existing substation and transmission line.
In 2019, Wales generated 27% of its electricity consumption as renewable electricity, an increase from 19% in 2014. The Welsh Government set a target of 70% by 2030. In 2019, Wales was a net exporter of electricity. It produced 27.9 TWh of electricity while only consuming 14.7 TWh. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European standards, with the core sources being wind, wave, and tidal. Wales has a long history of renewable energy: in the 1880s, the first house in Wales with electric lighting powered from its own hydro-electric power station was in Plas Tan y Bwlch, Gwynedd. In 1963, the Ffestiniog Power Station was constructed, providing a large scale generation of hydroelectricity, and in November 1973, the Centre for Alternative Technology was opened in Machynlleth.
The Western Downs Green Power Hub is a large solar farm at the Kogan Creek Power Station near Chinchilla in Queensland, Australia. The photovoltaic solar power station uses one million solar panels to generate 400 megawatts of power. It utilizes 72-cell bi-facial solar modules on single-axis trackers; a system that tracks the sun throughout the day. It was the largest solar farm in Australia for some time.
