Genex Power’s Kidston Renewable Energy Hub in Far North Queensland has been fast-tracked.
The $330 million Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage project (K2H) has been declared a coordinated project, meaning more flexibility around approvals for a project providing sufficient energy to power about 160,000 homes, also encouraging electric vehicle uptake.
“This declaration is recognition of the significant positive benefits that the project will have to the region and state,” Genex chief executive officer James Harding says.
“Coming on the heels of the development approval announced last week, it provides further support from the Office of the Coordinator General as we finalise outstanding environmental approvals ahead of closing the financing and commencing construction in 2019.”
The project at the decommissioned Kidston Gold Mine within Etheridge Shire proposes an innovative use of two existing adjacent water-filled mine pits to generate hydroelectricity, state development, manufacturing, infrastructure and planning minister Cameron Dick says.
“If approved, the project could employ 370 people during the two-year construction and have a minimum lifespan of 50 years,” he says.
“When complete, Stages 1 and 2 of the Kidston Renewable Energy Hub will provide enough energy to power around 160,000 Australian homes – enough power for a city bigger than Cairns.”
Stage 1 alone will produce enough power to supply more than 26,000 Australian homes, offsetting 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and removing 33,000 cars from Australian roads, Dick says.
“Last week, Genex was given development approval by Etheridge Shire Council and this declaration is the final push through the fast lane to get this important job creating project up and running.”
Natural resources, mines and energy minister Anthony Lynham says the project could act as a large-scale battery storage, allowing solar energy from the adjoining solar project to be stored and harnessed as peak-load power on demand.
“The project complements the Palaszczuk Government’s target of generating 50% of Queensland’s electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030 and is part of state’s $5 billion pipeline of financially committed or underway renewable energy projects,” he says.
“The addition of hydroelectric generation in Far North Queensland will add stability to the network in the region reducing the necessity for importing excess electricity from neighbouring areas, providing a benefit to the entire network.”
The Kidston Renewable Energy Hub comprises an already constructed stage one solar power project (50mW), a proposed stage two new solar project (270mW) to integrate with the K2H project (250mW) currently undergoing assessment, and a third stage wind farm project (150mW) undergoing a feasibility study.
Dick says the K2H project is a very innovative but also unique situation in which a renewable energy project is proposed over an abandoned mine.
“This means that certain aspects of the project can only be regulated and approved by the coordinator-general, which is another advantage of the flexibility of the coordinated project approach.”
If approved, construction is due to start in 2019 and be completed by 2021.
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