Renewable energy resources in Queensland
Queensland has world-class solar and wind resources, and the ideal geography to support long duration pumped hydro projects. We also have the critical minerals to produce the renewable energy technologies needed to decarbonise the world’s economy. Queensland is developing a strong clean energy industry, a well-trained high-tech workforce and has a leading sustainable energy research sector.
Solar energy
Queensland’s abundant sunshine and favourable climate underpin its position as a national leader in solar energy. With high levels of solar exposure and strong investment in renewable infrastructure, the state supports both large-scale solar generation and widespread household adoption. More than one in three Queensland homes have rooftop solar systems, the highest uptake in Australia, contributing over 5 gigawatts of capacity across homes and businesses.
Leading research into solar-based solutions is taking place at Queensland’s Centre for Solar Biotechnology, where commercial applications for new solar powered green-algae technologies are being developed. Research at the Centre for Organic Photonics & Electronics includes next-generation applications for integrated perovskite solar cells. The Sun Metals Solar Farm in Townsville is one of the largest integrated industrial use solar farm in Australia, providing 22% of the power to the adjacent Sun Metals’ zinc refinery.
Wind energy
Queensland has some of the best terrain and wind resources in Australia. As of April 2024, Queensland’s existing 6 wind farms total over 1 GW of capacity, with a further 5 wind farms totalling over 1.8 GW under construction or financially committed. See Queensland’s electricity generation map.
Bioenergy
Energy from biomass and organic waste has played an important role in Queensland’s energy supply for many decades, with current installed capacity of around 500 MW in the state.
A diverse energy mix, supplemented with bioenergy, will help deliver the clean, reliable and affordable energy system needed to meet Queensland’s renewable energy targets and enable new industry growth, particularly in regional Queensland. This supports industries (such as the sugarcane industry) in modernising bioenergy generation and using waste products for bioenergy.
Critical minerals and rare earth elements
The Geological Survey of Queensland provides geoscience information on geology and minerals. Queensland has many of the critical minerals and rare earth elements essential for much of the renewable energy infrastructure and related technologies needed for decarbonisation. These are vanadium (some of the richest deposits in the world), cobalt, indium, chromium, titanium, graphite, tungsten, antimony, rhenium, and neodymium.
Through the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development, the Queensland Government is supporting research, innovation and industry collaboration to strengthen the resources sector. Current priorities include growing Queensland's critical minerals industry, supporting downstream processing and manufacturing, attracting investment, and translating research into practical commercial outcomes that benefit regional communities and the broader economy
Queensland Decarbonisation Hub
The Queensland Decarbonisation Hub is a forum that brings together Queensland’s industrial, research and policy sectors. The Hub is tackling challenges and seizing the opportunities of decarbonisation while supporting Queensland’s transition to renewable energy. The Hub is a collaboration between the Queensland Government and 7 leading Queensland universities.
Queensland is home to leading research precincts, institutes, and centres and over 70 research organisations involved in energy research.
Leading energy research organisations
All health and medical research centres
Industry-research collaboration and commercialisation
Power conversion technology
The Queensland Micro-and Nanotechnology Centre has patented a new, more efficient, low-cost fabrication technology for silicon carbon (SiC) Schottky diodes. These diodes are highly sought-after for applications such as solar inverters and electric vehicle chargers. The centre has partnered with Quest Semiconductors in a pilot facility to fast-track production of these diodes for commercial use.
Iron flow batteries
The Queensland Energy Storage Technology (QUEST) Hub at QUT is collaborating with Energy Storage Industries - Asia Pacific to establish Australia’s first large-scale long-duration iron flow battery and the development of Australia’s first large-scale iron flow battery manufacturing facility.
Renewable hydrogen
As Queensland’s renewable hydrogen industry expands, the Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation has partnered with several industry leaders to provide an open collaboration platform. This platform will advance sustainability in hydrogen production, storage and transport.
Advanced biorefining
Working to develop advanced biorefinery technologies for biofuels, polyurethane foams and nutritional microbial oils from sugarcane fibres, the QUT Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy and the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion are collaborating on a joint research project with Tully Sugar, Sugar Research Australia and Nourish Ingredients. This is supported by the Australia-China Science Research Fund.
Smart energy systems
CQUniversity SMART Grid Research Group has been working with long-term industry partner EleXsys Planet Ark Energy to design an islandable (offline, locally generated and stored electricity) microgrid for the remote Woorabinda community. The project is funded by the Queensland Microgrid Pilot Fund in alignment with CQUniversity’s Centre for Hydrogen and Renewable Energy.
Biomass availability
The UniSC Forest Research Institute is working with the International Energy Agency IEA Bioenergy Task 43 to address barriers of use of sustainably-sourced biomass supply chains. Technical and economic opportunities are being explored to increase the quantity, quality and value of biomass for different energy purposes and to boost confidence in biomass supply.
Wind turbine materials
The UniSQ Centre for Future Materials is working in partnership with ACCIONA Energia’s MacIntyre Wind Farm, one of the largest onshore wind farms in the southern hemisphere. The research seeks to improve the flame resistance of the fibre composite material used in wind turbines.
Renewable hydrogen systems
To evaluate the viability of decentralised and regional-scale renewable energy hybrid systems to generate hydrogen, the QUT Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices has partnered with CS Energy and Sumitomo Electric in their H2XPORT - Hydrogen Process Research & Development project that is funded by Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Critical mineral refining
Lava Blue’s Predictive Research into Speciality Materials (PRiSM) centre has partnered with the QUT Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices to develop a process to manufacture high purity alumina (HPA). This is a critical mineral used in lithium-ion batteries and all light emitting diodes (LEDs). The project is looking at manufacturing HPA from a range of low-cost inputs, including mine waste.
Contact the commercial partnership offices of Queensland universities and research institutes for details of their research-industry collaboration and investment opportunities.
Talent pipeline for renewable energy
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Researchers analysing the properties of catalyst surfaces crucial for efficient hydrogen production.
UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering InnovationAll Queensland universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in renewable energy, including courses at JCU, courses at CQUniversity, and courses at UniSQ. Queensland universities partner with the energy sector so undergraduates can learn and network with professional engineers, biochemists and designers.
High school students are learning industry skills under the Gateway to Industry School program (GISP). This long-term development program is creating a skilled workforce to support Queensland's fast-growing hydrogen sector.
Queensland Science…ENERGY…making a difference
Find out why top researchers and industry leaders are saying Queensland is one of the best places in the world for energy research.
Queensland Science ENERGY making a difference video
Professor Chris Greig
Director, Dow Centre
The University of Queensland
Supplying reliable affordable energy that is also sustainable is about the greatest challenge that our society faces for generations.
[Caption: Queensland Science…ENERGY…making a difference]
We have people who are working actively on new discoveries that will transform the energy system.
Things like making solar and bioenergy more scalable and more affordable.
Doing it in the lab is one thing connecting it to large scale demonstrations – that’s, that’s how we really make an impact.
[Caption: Transforming our energy system]
We’re working on energy storage which is the missing link in intermittent renewables and how they fit into the energy system.
Professor Ian O’Hara
Principal Research Fellow, Science and Engineering Faculty
QUT
It’s critically important that we do transition to a low carbon energy future and using agricultural waste will help us to achieve that.
[Caption: Powering the future]
We work at QUT here on a range of technologies looking at things like biofuels, things like ethanol or advanced drop in fuels.
We built the Mackay Pilot plant which is the only plant of its kind in Australia to do that – to work with industry partners to develop and demonstrate the technologies.
Professor Chris Greig
Director, Dow Centre
The University of Queensland
We’re going to have at least some coal and some natural gas in the economy for many decades to come.
So we have people looking at traditional energy systems to work on their efficiencies.
Dr Hua Guo
Research Director, Energy
CSIRO
Coal will remain a major source of energy for foreseeable future.
My team have developed an automated system. The major benefits is improved mining safety. And also improved productivity and mining efficiency.
It’s unique technology was developed in Queensland adopted in USA, and recently have been successfully demonstrated in China.
David Smales
CEO
Energy Queensland
The electricity supply industry is changing rapidly.
Science underpins that change and the transformation of the industry. At Energy Queensland we’re using lots of new technologies
[Caption: Partnering for success]
We’re getting lots of interest internationally
Aiden Roberts
Senior Future Technology Implementation Engineer
Energex
Solar PV system and a battery energy storage system has been integrated with a distribution management system.
I think this is a challenge that we happen to be leading the world in. We partner with Queensland universities at all levels to help us solve the challenges that we face today.
David Smales
CEO
Energy Queensland
Queensland science is making a difference to what we do.
Ian O’Hara
Queensland science
Aiden Roberts
Making a difference
[Caption: Come join us]
[Logo: ADVANCE Queensland Jobs now, jobs for the future]
[Caption: Queensland Science Making a difference]
[Logo: Queensland Government]
The Department commissioned two reports to support emerging science-based industries: