Last year the Queensland Government released the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan outlining several key renewable energy commitments including a target of 70% renewable energy by 2032. The plan requires substantial investment across the state with approximately 95% of clean energy infrastructure investment anticipated to be in the regions. The plan also indicates that by 2030 total large-scale wind and solar energy generation will increase from 3GW to 13GW.
Over the past twelve months, renewable infrastructure development activity and proposed activity has stepped up across Queensland, and the development of wind farms and other renewable energy infrastructure has come under increased scrutiny due to a range of complex challenges they present to both the local communities and the agricultural land on which they are located.
The State Government has proposed updates to the State Code 23 for wind farm developments and the associated planning guidance which were released in August this year. QFF has welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed updates outlining some key concerns and recommendations to ensure the needs of farmers and rural communities are fully considered in the development of wind farm infrastructure.
Understanding and mitigating the potential for increased risks in relation to biosecurity, bushfires, transport networks, aviation and aerial spraying have been highlighted in the submission as important factors that must be accounted for in any renewable development.
QFF have also outlined the issues of rehabilitation and decommissioning as essential matters that must be addressed. It is absolutely critical that wind farm developers are required to restore any areas of land or infrastructure that are impacted during the construction phase. This might relate to things such as temporary worker accommodation, concrete batching plants and construction storage sites.
Questions regarding future decommissioning requirements must be answered with a clear framework mandated to safeguard landholders. Standard contracts for wind farms typically require the dismantling of turbines and restoration of the site to its original state. However, landholders need legislated assurance that this obligation will be fulfilled, irrespective of potential future unplanned and unintended circumstances.
QFF points to previous work done in relation to the introduction of the Financial Provisioning Scheme during the development of the gas sector and suggest that it is necessary for the State Code 23 to impose decommissioning regulations to ensure landholder hosts are protected against any future decommissioning related risks.
The rapid expansion of wind farms and other renewable energy infrastructure will come with complex challenges as well as opportunities. It is important that landholders and communities are supported to make informed decisions in navigating what is a fast-moving landscape. I encourage you to utilise QFF’s Queensland Renewable Energy Landholder Toolkit and to read our response to the proposed updates to the State Code 23, both of which are available on the QFF website. www.qff.org.au