Under the pump: Queensland LNP’s vow to sink world’s biggest hydro-electric project

Queensland’s plans to build the world’s biggest pumped hydro project will be scrapped if the Liberal National Party wins the October election.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli. Picture: Liam Kidston

Queensland’s plans to build the world’s biggest pumped hydro project – the energy storage centrepiece of Premier Steven Miles’ plan to phase out the state’s coal-fired generators – will be scrapped if the Liberal National Party wins the October election.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli on Thursday will announce an LNP government won’t proceed with the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project, initially estimated to cost $12bn to build.

The Labor government says the project is critical to reach the state’s target of 80 per cent renewable energy and slash emissions by 75 per cent by 2035.

The project, in the Pioneer Valley west of Mackay in central Queensland, is still subject to financial, engineering and environmental assessments.

Earlier this year, the government confirmed it would delay a final approval decision on the project until after the election, with Mr Miles also conceding the $12bn price tag was likely to increase.

In his budget reply speech, parts of which have been obtained by The Australian, Mr Crisafulli will label the project a “fantasy” that would drive up the cost of electricity for consumers.

“The government does not have a credible plan, they have a multibillion-dollar fantasy based on the Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project, a project energy experts and environmentalists believe just won’t happen,’’ Mr Crisafulli will tell parliament.

“Massive cost blowouts on this project will unavoidably drive up the price of power in Queensland.

“This is a project without direct funding, no approvals and no social licence from the local community.”

The Pioneer-Burdekin project was first announced in 2022 by the then premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Mr Miles as part of a plan to build two pumped hydro sites capable of storing and supplying up to 24 hours of power.

The other project is slated for the existing Borumba Dam, near Imbil, inland from the Sunshine Coast, and will be able to store two gigawatts of power.

It is estimated to cost $14.2bn and the business case has been signed off by government, with ­environmental approvals understood to have been submitted to the federal government.

The Pioneer-Burdekin project would be ready to provide up to 5GW in two stages – 2032 and 2035, when the government planned to phase out use of its five coal-fired generators. Construction was proposed to begin in the 2027-28 financial year, with government documents stating that it is “critical” to the state’s transition to renewable energy.

But smaller pumped hydro schemes – including NSW’s Snowy 2.0 – have been plagued by cost blowouts and delays.

Tuesday’s budget included $1bn in the capital statement to fund land acquisitions and early works for Pioneer-Burdekin.

Both projects have faced some opposition in the nearby communities and among environmentalists because of fears of their ­impact on local habitat.

Earlier this year, Mr Crisafulli and the LNP voted in support of the Miles government’s plans to cut 75 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions on 2005 levels by 2035 in a move that drew criticism from some of his federal counterparts.

Successive polls have shown the LNP is on track to defeat the third-term Labor government at the October 26 election.

In his budget reply speech, Mr Crisafulli will say an elected LNP government would investigate alternatives to storing power.

“In its place, we will embark on a long-term plan which will provide alternative storage options to this unachievable project,’’ he will say in the speech.

“The LNP will investigate opportunities for smaller, more manageable pumped-hydro projects.

“We will bring in new laws to ensure all projects are treated equally.

“No special treatment will be given in relation to planning and environmental approvals.”