Crisafulli happy to keep the coal fires burning if LNP takes power

The news

Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli says he would be open to keeping the state’s coal-fired power stations running indefinitely amid the state’s transition to renewables.

“We will continue to ensure that they operate whilst they are needed to form part of the mix of affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity,” Crisafulli said on Thursday.

The state-owned Stanwell power station near Rockhampton, one of eight coal-fired generators across Queensland, is not officially slated to close until the mid 2040s.Credit: Matt Dennien

On the election campaign, Crisafulli was pressed about whether his vow to not “shut off baseload power before the capacity of the next generation of energy has been developed” meant coal could be used “indefinitely”.

“Well, I guess, the answer to that is yes,” he told journalists in Mackay on Thursday, noting the LNP was committed to the energy transition in a “reliable and affordable” way.

Why it matters

Crisafulli’s LNP supports nationwide efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 to combat the worst of climate change, as well as interim state targets now written into law.

But the party did not support related targets for the proportion of energy to be generated by renewables, instead vowing to change laws to ensure “no special treatment” for any project.

Experts have told Brisbane Times that using coal beyond 2035, by which time the Australian Energy Market Operator believes it should have been phased out, would threaten those targets.

It would also come at a large cost to the Queensland government – and taxpayers – which would need to subsidise what will then be more expensive, uneconomic power stations, over cheaper renewables.

What they said

Crisafulli has previously promised “maintenance guarantees” for Queensland’s relatively young and mostly state-owned coal-fired generator fleet, with nuclear “not part of our plan”.

If the LNP takes government on October 26, he would dump Labor’s $12 billion-plus Pioneer Burdekin pumped hydro project – still in early planning – but keep a smaller one, and pursue other projects with the private sector.

But the LNP is yet to detail the number, cost or locations of those projects. Pressed for timelines, Crisafulli would only say they would be operating by 2050, with more detail “before and after the election”.

“We also need to have a vision to make sure that we are part of a transition to renewable energy, but it’s got to be done in a way that makes sure that Queenslanders can continue to afford their bills.”

LNP leader David Crisafulli on Thursday

Perspectives

Deputy Premier and Treasurer Cameron Dick last week declared the LNP’s plan to be more expensive than Pioneer Burdekin, which he said would benefit from the “economies of scale”.

While Labor has pitched the expensive project as key to the energy transition, University of NSW researcher Dylan McConnell said analysis by the energy market operator showed it was not.

But nor was the LNP’s claim baseload coal could be needed beyond 2035.

“Neither of those positions are supported by the AEMO’s analysis,” McConnell said.

Grattan Institute energy and climate change program deputy director Alison Reeve said while many of Queensland’s coal power stations had life beyond 2035, AEMO’s energy pathway – and emissions targets – meant they would and should stop.

She said with most emissions coming from the electricity sector, keeping coal generators running “seems to me to imply that you’re not actually serious about the emissions target”.

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