Renewable energy in North West Queensland

North West Queensland is a significant contributor to Queensland’s economy through its natural beauty and natural resources.

The region’s strong history of agriculture, minerals and commercial industry will continue to provide vital expertise in the renewable energy transformation.

The region already has skilled workers who work in critical minerals, operate machinery, manage the land and provide services for remote workers and communities. The renewable energy industry will create further demand for these skills.

Local government areas include Cloncurry, Mount Isa, Richmond and Carpentaria.

Energy strengths

The North West Minerals Province is one of the world’s largest base and precious metals producers.

Critical minerals are already being extracted and processed to help build renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic cells, electric vehicles and batteries.

The region will be connected to the national energy grid through upgrades to the transmission infrastructure. Increased infrastructure will help decarbonise operations at existing industrial facilities.

The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan will ensure North West Queensland’s renewable energy potential translates into employment and improved quality of life for locals.

Transmission upgrades

CopperString 2032 will connect the North West Minerals Province to the national electricity grid.

The new high-voltage transmission line will run west from Townsville to Hughenden, Cloncurry and Mount Isa. The $5 billion project is considered the most significant investment in economic infrastructure in northern Queensland since the railways.

As Australia’s largest transmission project, CopperString 2032 is expected to unlock over $500billion in critical minerals and provide 2,000 jobs during construction.

Critical mineral investment

Areas around Mount Isa, Julia Creek and Richmond have been designated as Critical Minerals Zones. This is part of a $245 million Critical Minerals Strategy that will help supply the essential materials for battery, wind and solar construction.

The $242 million Richmond–Julia Creek Vanadium will extract up to 4.2 million tonnes of vanadium ore annually, which will be processed on site. This vanadium will be used to make batteries in Queensland that store our renewable energy. This project will create up to 100 construction jobs and 200 ongoing operational jobs over 25 years.

The Saint Elmo Vanadium project located 15km east of Julia Creek is expected to create approximately 200 construction jobs and about 150 operational jobs.

Renewable energy supply across the region

Boulia, Burketown and Doomadgee have cut their reliance on diesel and switched to renewables and battery storage. These 3 communities will collectively save $2.6 million a year from this transition.

Industry based in Mount Isa is transitioning to use clean electricity. The new 88MW Mica Creek Solar Farm will supply mining operations at APA, Mount Isa Mines Limited and Glencore Company.

How we generate electricity in Queensland

View Queensland’s electricity generation map.

Landholder opportunities

Opportunities exist for landholders to host renewable energy projects. The Queensland Renewable Energy Landholder Toolkit can help you with the decision-making process.

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