‘Mackay should be the next renewable energy hub’

Mackay MP eyes opportunities in sugar, waste

Mackay Sugar asset Marian Mill

MACKAY MP Julieanne Gilbert wants the city to become the next renewable energy hub.

Mrs Gilbert plans to reach out to Treasurer Jackie Trad to secure her support in a push for Mackay to explore further opportunities in developing renewable energy from sugar cane and even waste.

It comes after it was revealed the state had demanded $1 billion from the Federal Government to help it build renewable energy projects across Queensland to cut power bills.

Ms Trad has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison requesting the money be repurposed from the "underperforming" Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) after the Commonwealth struck an energy deal with NSW last week.

Mrs Gilbert said she intended to push the case for more Mackay renewable energy projects during a meeting with the treasurer this week.

Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert Photo: Emma Murray

"We need to be looking at our sugar industry to see how we can further develop cogeneration electricity," she said.

"I would like to flag with the treasurer that Mackay is primed to be the next renewable energy space.

"The other area that I'd like to investigate is processing energy from our waste management."

Mrs Gilbert said the opportunity to process energy from waste in Mackay needed to be explored as Queensland was still sending much of its waste to landfill.

"As a government, we are looking for opportunities to develop renewable energy because we know that we need to have a mix of baseload plus renewable energy so that we can bring down the cost of our electricity," she said.

Ms Trad said Queensland would continue to work towards its commitment of 50/50 renewables by 2020 and provide ongoing investment through its government-owned CleanCo.

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