930km powerline plan to open up Outback Qld

Plans for a nearly 1000km powerline would open a large swath of the state for solar and wind energy projects.

Longreach Mayor Tony Rayner

An alliance of rural Queensland council proposing to build the state’s second electricity highway believes a novel royalties regime could pump more than $160m into their communities over decades.

And they hope this will set a new benchmark for well-planned economic development in rural areas, particularly by bringing locals and the interests of communities along for the ride.

The plan by Central Western Queensland Remote Area Planning and Development, in partnership with the founders of CopperString 2.0, is to build a 930km powerline stretching from Hughenden in the north through Barcaldine and into Biloela.

It would open a large swath of the state for solar and wind energy projects, in an area where environmental issues and worries about endangered species would be low.

The councils in RAPAD are Barcaldine, Barcoo, Blackall, Tambo, Boulia, Diamantina, Longreach, and Winton.

As part of the RAPAD Power Grid the councils and Queensland company VisIR — which founded the CopperString 2.0 project eventually taken over by the state government — plan to set up a novel royalty arrangement with power companies in order to provide direct benefit to locals.

Under the scheme power companies would put funds into a community account for every megawatt of electricity transmitted, with the cash controlled by councils with a focus on community projects like libraries, pools, ovals and other recreation facilities.

Longreach Mayor Tony Rayner said the group believe the agreement was an Australian-first and provided a clear framework that aligned the interests of the community and energy infrastructure investors.

“We have researched models in Australia and the US and consulted with my fellow mayors to develop a framework that is clear for our community, government and investors, and provides real cash flow that we can invest in our communities’ infrastructure priorities,” he said.