Minister for Transport and Main Road, Mark Bailey
“While these new solar farms might be small in size comparative to the Queensland SuperGrid, the benefit of them to these remote communities is incredibly valuable.
“This program is proof that the Palaszczuk Government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is delivering opportunities and benefits of our clean energy transition to all Queenslanders, no matter where they live.
“This is great for the environment too, getting these isolated networks off millions of litres of diesel will help us to reduce electricity emissions by 96% by 2040.”
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen, Mick de Brenni
“The beauty of outback Queensland may be a world away from global events like the illegal war in Ukraine, but we cannot underestimate how much global price rises on fossil fuels are impacting them.
“Because Queenslanders kept their energy system in public hands, they can put the people of these remote communities first in our energy and climate transition, savings millions by switching to solar.
“By supporting more renewable energy and decreasing the reliance on diesel generation for these isolated communities, the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is delivering clean, cheap, and secure energy for all Queenslanders.”
Energy Queensland’s Acting Chief Engineer Jason Hall
“Ergon Energy Network’s isolated networks are 34 isolated networks across 39 communities, where Ergon Energy provides both the generation and distribution network services in a type of micro-grid.
“Queensland’s isolated networks are mostly powered by dedicated diesel power stations, with some generation coming from a combination of customer-owned rooftop solar PV, and centralised renewable energy installations owned and operated by Ergon Energy Network.
“These projects will not only create direct and indirect contractor and supplier jobs in these communities, but they will also create massive savings for these isolated communities.”
