GW3, Resources Centre of Excellence welcome $12bn Pioneer-Burdekin scheme

As opposition escalates in the Pioneer Valley, support in a different community looks to be growing for the $12bn pumped hydro project west of Mackay. Read why business could be shifting in favour of the project.

Leading business advocates in Mackay are openly giddy about the state government’s mammoth $12bn renewable energy investment in the Pioneer Valley.

GW3’s Kylie Porter says the pumped hydro scheme, set to store and dispatch half of Queensland’s energy needs through linking two upper reservoirs and a lower reservoir at Netherdale with tunnels and an underground power station, will “underpin” Mackay’s prosperity for decades to come.

“So for a very long time we have been known for one of two things: we are either sugar or we are coal,” she said.

“By having this project available in our region means that we can now broaden our horizons.

“We don’t actually have to be stuck in those lanes.

GW3 CEO Kylie Porter attends a discussion with Energy Minister Mick de Brenni on business opportunities flowing from the $12bn pumped hydro scheme at Harrup Park on October 19. Picture: Duncan Evans

“New industry is going to be attracted to this region because of the access to clean energy and the depth of skills of people that have made that project happen.”

Resources Centre of Excellence CEO Steven Boxall says the project, called Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro, will transform Mackay into a capital for energy production and storage.

“I just think it is amazing,” he said.

“It is the catalytic project that is going to cement the future of our region.”

Mr Boxall said the economic benefits would flow for decades, from local procurement opportunities to new career paths for the region’s schoolchildren.

Mr Boxall also said the pre-existing coal industry would “absolutely” thrive alongside the scheme.

“Metallurgical coal is going to be there for a long time,” he said.

“And now we are going to have this new opportunity that is going to sit alongside that.”

Mr Boxall said business sentiment was shifting in favour of the project.

“I am seeing as more and more of the facts come out and people get their heads around it, I think they are starting to understand what a significant opportunity and a defining moment this is for our region,” he said.

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert and Energy Minister Mick de Brenni in Mackay on October 19. Picture: Duncan Evans

The 5GW “battery of the north” announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk serves as a linchpin for a broader $62bn plan to reconfigure the state’s energy system and move it onto a renewables base.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni, speaking with business leaders at Harrup Park on October 19, said the shift, called the Energy and Jobs Plan, would help businesses inoculate themselves from global price shocks while also addressing climate change concerns.

“(The plan will) Decouple our state, the businesses, those big electricity users, from those global price shocks, we need to move to a fuel system that is based on fuel that Queenslanders own and one that is low emissions as well,” he said.

Mr de Brenni also said the Pioneer-Burdekin project would inject “billions” into Mackay.

“The Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project is the largest of its kind globally and is set to deliver a multi-billion injection to the Mackay economy,” he said.

“Because this project is owned by Queenslanders, we can use our buying power and Buy Queensland procurement approach to ensure as much of the supply chain is delivered by local businesses.”

Dawson MP Andrew Willcox (left) and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton met in Mackay on October 12. Picture: Duncan Evans

Despite the promise of a long-term business boom, the LNP has come out forcefully against the project, highlighting a lack of consultation and detail and concern about the effect on property owners in the Pioneer Valley.

Dawson MP Andrew Willcox said it would be “irresponsible” for him to support the project without seeing the details.

“The Pioneer-Burdekin project is set to wipe out homes of residents, which I am dead set against,” he said.

“In my maiden speech, I voiced my support for local, sustainable, viable and practical hydro infrastructure solutions and I am sticking by this.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also dismissed the project as a “thought bubble”.

“I think people see what the Premier has announced as not much more than a thought bubble,” he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also dismissed the project as a “thought bubble”.

“I think people see what the Premier has announced as not much more than a thought bubble,” he said.

“There are families in communities where there will be resumptions, that are really panicking now, they don’t know whether their future is secure, whether their house and property will be resumed, and the Premier seems to be able to provide no detail.”