Community Group Pumped about New Hydro Plans
9 April 2021: Community Group Pumped about New Hydro Plans
Solar Citizens today welcomes news that the Queensland Government is considering a new pumped hydro site near Gympie.
“It’s been almost four years since the Queensland Government promised to undertake research on possible pumped hydro locations across the state and we’re still waiting to see the results,” said Stephanie Gray, Energy Strategist at Solar Citizens.
“It’s great to finally see evidence that this work is progressing.
“Queenslanders are world leaders in the uptake of rooftop solar. Now we need to get serious about adding more storage, like batteries and pumped hydro, so we can utilise this abundant and cheap solar energy around the clock.
“We know that Queensland’s state-owned coal stations are rapidly becoming unprofitable. In the last audit the value of the state’s coal and gas generators was dropped by over $1 billion.
“The Queensland Government needs to keep pace with the energy transition and ensure there’s enough clean energy storage coming online. Queenslanders can’t afford the pretence that coal stations will keep operating for decades.
“It will hurt the hip pocket of consumers if we don’t properly plan for early coal closures and not enough renewable energy generation and storage is built in time for replacement.”
Solar Citizens is calling on the State Government to implement a 2GW by 2025 storage target to provide firming for renewable energy generation that is coming online.
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Media contact: Stephanie Gray 0425543006
