The Queensland Government has announced plans to deliver the state’s first new gas-fired power station in more than a decade, with CS Energy and Senex Energy entering into 10-year gas supply agreement.
State-owned CS Energy will develop the 400MW Brigalow Peaking Power Plant next to the coal-fired Kogan Creek Power Station in Queensland’s Western Downs.
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Senex will supply up to 58.4PJ of natural gas from its Atlas development in the Surat Basin to the Brigalow Peaking Power Plant.
Forecasts place development costs of the fossil fuel project in the vicinity of $479 million, with operationality planned for 2028.
Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki said gas powered generation formed a key part of the Government’s Energy Roadmap to deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable power.
“This is part of our plan to improve the energy assets we have while we build what we need for the future,” Minister Janetzki said.
“We’re taking an approach based on economics and engineering, not ideology.
“The roadmap includes extended coal generation, more low-cost energy production in wind and solar and more dispatchable supply including gas turbines, pumped hydro and batteries for firming and storage.
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“The need for new gas capacity is universal across all market outlooks to de-risk the energy system as it transitions over time.”
Queensland is forecast to have up to 4.1GW of gas-fired generation capacity by 2030, increasing to between 6.1GW and 8.3GW by 2035.
