The energy system is evolving, relying less on the traditional energy sources that have kept the lights on for decades, and moving towards clean, renewable generation. It’s a delicate balance – and there’s plenty of work being done behind the scenes to ensure affordability, reliability and security is maintained as the system transforms. 

The National Electricity Market (NEM), the wholesale electricity market and physical power system that provides energy for households and businesses in the eastern and south-eastern states of Australia, has traditionally relied heavily on coal-fired generation. 

In Queensland alone, there’s around 8,100 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired generation, across eight power stations. At the time the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan (QEJP) was released in 2022, that equated to about 70 per cent of Queensland’s annual electricity demand. 

But the energy mix is changing – fast. In 2024, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released its latest Integrated System Plan (ISP). The ISP’s most likely scenario forecasts the retirement of 90 per cent of Australia’s remaining coal generation by 2034-35, with the entire fleet expected to retire by 2038. 

That’s five years earlier than was forecast in the previous ISP, released just two years earlier in 2022. 

That’s consistent with the plan in Queensland, where the Queensland SuperGrid Infrastructure Blueprint projects that the state will no longer be regularly reliant on coal-fired generation by 2035. 

By that time, it’s expected that Queensland’s publicly owned coal-fired power stations will be operating as clean energy hubs, and the remaining privately owned coal-fired power stations won’t be required.

Of course, these coal-fired power stations were never intended to generate electricity forever. Queensland’s oldest coal-fired power station, the Gladstone Power Station commissioned in 1976, was already scheduled to close in 2035, while the Tarong power stations were expected to close by 2037, and the Stanwell Power Station was scheduled to close by 2046. 

But the energy transformation has accelerated these plans. In Queensland, it’s expected that a mix of wind and solar generation, pumped hydro energy storage, batteries, and low emissions gas-fuelled generation will collectively provide the capacity currently provided by coal by 2035.

And while all of that new generation and storage is being added to the grid, important decisions will be made about Queensland’s existing coal-fired power stations. 

What will happen to Queensland’s coal-fired power stations? 

Shutting down a coal-fired power station isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s a major undertaking that requires years of meticulous planning, stakeholder engagement, and compliance with environmental regulations, including decisions around how the land and infrastructure at power station sites will be repurposed. 

It’s also important to ensure that generating units are shut down on a timeline that ensures the NEM has the capacity and infrastructure in place to compensate for their absence. 

Between now and 2035, the focus is firmly on getting the right mix of energy sources in place to replace the generation that’s currently provided by coal-fired power stations. 

That’s expected to include up to 12,200 MW of new wind generation and 10,000 MW of new large-scale solar capacity; as well as 6,000 MW of long duration storage, 3,000 MW of grid-scale storage, and up to 3,000 MW of new low emissions gas-fuelled generation to ensure there’s enough energy in the grid to meet demand when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.

But coal-fired power stations don’t just provide the energy grid with, well, energy. They also provide services that are essential to the security and reliability of the grid, such as system strength and inertia – services that aren’t provided by renewable energy sources. 

That’s why, in Queensland, the state’s publicly owned coal-fired generators won’t simply close. Instead, the Queensland Government will invest in repurposing these stations into clean energy hubs, capitalising on their skilled workforces, strong network connections and existing infrastructure. 

This will include installing batteries and low-to-zero gas-fuelled generation at these sites, and using them as maintenance hubs for nearby government-owned wind and solar farms. It may alsoIt’ll also mean repurposing coal-fired generating units into synchronous condensers, so that they can continue to provide system strength and inertia, and the grid can continue to meet its operational requirements.

The Queensland SuperGrid Infrastructure Blueprint ultimately identifies four operating states for Queensland’s coal-fired units: 

1. Generating electricity (the current operating condition). 

2. Reserve – Operating seasonally. This involves power stations removing one (or more) units from service during periods of sustained low electricity demand. In Queensland, this will typically correspond with autumn and spring periods, when temperatures are mild and heating and cooling requirements are minimal. Units that are removed from service during these periods could be recalled if necessary in under two weeks, providing the grid with insurance. 

3. Repurpose – Operating as a synchronous condenser. At this stage, a unit will no longer export power, but will instead import a small amount of power in order to provide the grid with system strength and inertia. 

4. Reinvest – The unit is finally decommissioned and permanently removed from operation as a generating unit. 

Under the current Blueprint, Stanwell Power Station and the Tarong power stations will continue to operate with no change, providing baseload power and keeping downward pressure on electricity prices, until 2026-27, when one or more units at each station will shift to seasonal operation or synchronous condenser conversion.  

Callide B, which is also publicly owned, will also begin this process from 2026-27, while other power stations around the state will begin their transformations later.  while a fourth publicly-owned station, Kogan Creek, will continue to operate with no change until its status shifts in 2034-35. 

These shifts will only take place when energy reliability is assured, and there’s enough replacement generation, storage and supporting infrastructure in place. 

The state government will establish a Queensland Energy System Advisory Board to provide expert technical advice and compare the grid’s progress against ‘Blueprint checkpoints’ to determine if it’s possible to move coal-fired power stations to the next phase of their modernisation. 

The conversions of generator units to synchronous condensers will be designed to be reversible, so these units can return to service in the event of a renewable drought, or the forced outage of other generators and forms of storage. 

Privately owned power stations will make their own decisions about their future operations, with the understanding that the system is being designed to operate without reliance on coal by 2035. 

How will workers at coal-fired power stations be affected? 

To ensure that workers at Queensland’s publicly owned coal-fired power stations are able to benefit from the energy transformation, and continue their careers within the evolving energy industry, the state government has established a Job Security Guarantee. 

The Guarantee is backed by a $150 million funding commitment, and an Energy Workers’ Charter between unions, government and employers, including Stanwell. 

The Guarantee supports workers to transfer between publicly owned energy businesses to secure new, ongoing opportunities; undertake additional training or skills development; and seek advice on their career options with dedicated future pathway managers. 

The state government has also released a Clean Energy Workforce Roadmap that outlines the steps required to develop workforce capacity and capability, and a Future Energy Jobs Guide to help workers explore new career opportunities and training pathways. 

At Stanwell, we’re building Queensland’s largest portfolio of renewable energy and storage projects – but we’re also creating new opportunities and developing new pathways for our people, and for all energy workers, as the industry evolves. 

One of the ways we’ll do this is through our Future Energy Innovation and Training Hub (FEITH) at Stanwell Power Station, which will provide a real-life, hands-on training environment for our people to develop the skills needed to work on emerging energy technologies. 

We’re providing the spark for a bright future – and that future starts now.