Written by Anthony Elliott In April 2024 the Queensland Government foreshadowed a mandatory renewable energy code of conduct to ensure communities get a fair share of Queensland’s renewable energy boom. So, what is the scale of the boom for Queensland? Well, big. Estimates in the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan pegged the investment at $62 Billion between 2022 and 2035, creating 100,000 jobs. Renewable energy investment, approvals and projects will need to move without delay in the next 11 years to catapult Queensland from the current rate of 27% renewable energy production to the targets of 50% by 2030, 70% by 2032 and 80% by 2035. The new code aims to set “Set standard for social licence and regional community priorities”. This includes “demonstrating tangible benefits for communities, and improvements to infrastructure, jobs, local economy, the environment and social fabric”. The case for a new code is compelling. In February 2024, the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner’s (AEIC) Community Engagement Review was publicly released and sent a strong signal that community engagement was not meeting community expectations. This included: 92% were dissatisfied with the extent to which project developers engaged with the local community 85% were dissatisfied with the explanations provided by the project developers in response to their questions 89% stated that the information they received from project developers was not relevant to the concerns they raised 85% of stated that their concerns were not addressed in a timely manner. The code is currently being co-designed with industry collaborators and a Community/Customer Outcomes Group, supported by the Energy Charter and Queensland Renewable Energy Council. The code will require renewable energy developers engage genuinely with landholders and communities when developing, building and operating new generation and storage projects. Renee Wall, Director of Wall Planning Group said ”The timing of this announcement by the government means that all planned and existing renewable energy projects in Queensland need to take a closer look at the social impact on community, and engage more deeply with communities before, and during the project lifecycle. Other large scale projects in Queensland’s many Renewable Energy Zones may also need to consider the cumulative social and community impact of their projects, alongside renewable energy projects.” As the first state mandatory code of conduct for renewable energy developers the code will set the benchmark for Community Engagement policy in Australia. ------------------- Wall Planning Group is a Queensland based planning firm specialising in supporting the delivery of major energy, resources, and development projects including project management, master planning, social impact assessment, and community engagement.

 Written by Anthony Elliott In July 2024, the Queensland Government launched Queensland’s new Critical Mineral’s Prospectus and Critical Mineral’s Investor Hub. Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart said ‘Queensland is in the box seat to capitalise on the global push to decarbonise because quite simply, we’ve won the geological lottery,” Queensland has an abundance of critical minerals and renewable energy potential combined with a track record of experience in mining. This unique confluence sets the stage for Queensland as an emerging international leader in the production of renewable energy and associated technologies and battery storage. Fortuitous indeed, given the demand for critical minerals is expected to triple as a result of existing global commitments to emissions reductions according to the International Energy Agency. Resources are already a major driver of Queensland’s economy. In the 2020 financial year, the resources industry contributed $27.5 billion to Queensland’s economy (over 8% of the state’s economy), directly employed 77,000 Queenslanders, with 70 per cent of these in regional areas. The Critical Minerals Prospectus is backed by the Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy and the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan (QRIDP), which provides a 30-year roadmap to grow and strengthen Queensland’s resources industry to create jobs and prosperity well into the future through the development of Queensland’s critical minerals sector. So, what are Critical Minerals? To be classified as a critical mineral, a metallic or non-metallic element must be: Essential to our modern technologies, economies or national security; and At risk of supply chain disruption. Australia has listed 31 critical resources identified as essential to: Decarbonisation of industries; Renewable energy in Queensland; and Aerospace and defence industries. Queensland has some of the world’s richest mineral-producing areas. The table below provides a snapshot of Queensland’s critical minerals $10 Billion investment opportunity (potential or current).