Queensland’s renewable energy ‘whiplash’: how the shift from coal stalled in Australia’s most polluting state

In 2024 seven solar and windfarms and seven storage projects – totalling 3,202 megawatts – had been approved. Then came the LNP government Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast For all involved, it felt like Queensland’s transition away from coal-fired power was happening at speeds never seen before. It was 2024, and the rubber was hitting the road hard on the Labor government’s plans to get the power grid almost entirely off coal by 2035. Seven solar and windfarms, and seven energy storage projects – totalling 3,202 megawatts, roughly four medium-sized coal power stations’ worth of electricity capacity – had been committed to, according to the national Clean Energy Council’s data. It was a record year. But that October the Liberal National party led by David Crisafulli won government, bringing a sharply different approach to energy in Australia’s highest-emitting state. “There’s been a bit of whiplash,” the chief executive of the Queensland Renewable Energy Council, Katie-Anne Mulder, says with only a hint of understatement. Legislated renewable energy targets were repealed. Rumour