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Final Up to date on: twentieth Could 2025, 02:17 am
Late in 2024, Queensland residents voted out the left-leaning Labour state authorities and voted within the extra conservative Liberal Nationwide Get together. Electrical automobile purchases by authorities companies have been affected. From the official website: “The QFleet Vehicle Emissions Reduction Strategy 2025-2030 (ER Strategy) was introduced on 10 March 2025, replacing the QFleet Electric Vehicle Transition Strategy 2023-2026. This removed the mandate to transition all eligible QFleet passenger vehicles to zero emission vehicles by 31 December 2026.”
Because the chart above exhibits, Queensland is making some progress within the uptake of electrical automobiles. That is regardless of voting in a conservative authorities which is subtly slowing the acquisition of plug-in electrical automobiles for the general public fleet. The outgoing Labor state authorities was dedicated to doubling the numbers of EVs within the fleet every year. It had achieved a penetration price of roughly 20% as of March 2025. Out of the entire QFleet fleet variety of 11,424 automobiles, 2,228 had been BEV (full battery electrics) and 14 PHEV (plug-in hybrids). QFleet additionally comprises 1,882 HEV (standard hybrid) automobiles. Australia’s nationwide penetration price of plug-in automobiles sits at about 10%.
In accordance with a spokesperson for the Division of Housing and Public Works, there was no formal announcement of the coverage change, however QFleet clients had been notified final month. The brand new goal is a ten% general fleet emission discount by 2030, with the fleet emissions as at June 2024 because the baseline. The conspiracy theorist in me expects that this may imply extra HEV automobiles will likely be bought over a BEV various. We must wait and see. Not less than they aren’t shopping for any extra hydrogen-powered vehicles.
In the meantime, the wholly state authorities owned vitality firm Ergon is protecting a detailed eye on the charging of electrical automobiles locally. Since Could 2020, it has been conducting a analysis program focussed on residential charging. It gathers knowledge to assist perceive the wants of its clients and the potential influence of EV charging behaviour on the electrical energy community. “Balancing demand and supply have always been the key to delivering secure, affordable, sustainable and safe energy solutions.”
The newest Ergon Energy report tells us that as of March 2025, Queensland had registrations for 56,676 BEVs, together with 313 gentle business automobiles, 162 electrical buses, and 34 electrical vehicles; 12,552 PHEVs; and 1,767 electrical bikes. That is recorded within the chart above. Ergon Power is a state authorities owned organisation that builds and maintains the electrical energy community in regional Queensland.
And what of the broader transition to renewables? Regardless of a marketing campaign promise to take care of emissions targets already set by the earlier state authorities, the LNP has reverted to the federal Liberal place of “net zero by 2050.” This has meant a re-examination of main renewables initiatives that had already been accredited, inflicting worry and uncertainty available in the market. One of many new authorities’s first actions was to cancel a controversial pumped hydro project.
“It never stacked up financially, it never stacked up environmentally, it didn’t have traditional owner consent,” David Crisafulli, the Premier of Queensland, stated.
Some are complaining that there’s nonetheless no plan for Queensland’s energy future. “The LNP Government was elected on a promise to Queenslanders that they would take action to secure an affordable, renewable energy future. The new Government is only two weeks away from 100 days in office, and they have not delivered a plan for Queensland’s energy future. Last week exposed the unreliability of Queensland’s ageing coal fired power stations when a unit at Callide power station went offline during a heat wave. This shows that money cannot fix the fundamental problem that we have an ageing, increasingly unreliable coal fleet. We need a strong plan to replace our coal fired power stations with renewable energy backed by storage,” Queensland Conservation Council Power Strategist Clare Silcock stated in January 2025.
The LNP has launched laws to topic wind farm approvals to strict group session pointers, thus making them topic to authorized challenges. The Guardian stories: “Some coal mines could face an easier approvals process than renewable energy projects under a proposed crackdown on windfarms in Queensland, according to an environmental group.”
The LNP state authorities is proposing to maintain ageing coal-fired energy stations open for longer, and it’s trying to fuel as a viable vitality supply. “The Queensland Conservation Council director, Dave Copeman, said the government had been elected ‘after they promised to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035’ and estimated keeping Callide open another three years would cost the taxpayer $420m,” The Guardian individually stories.
Nonetheless, latest announcements of progress are encouraging. The 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Wongalee Wind Farm proposed for Yirendali Nation close to Hughenden acquired state improvement approval final week. The Wongalee Wind Farm will likely be comprised of 175 wind generators on pastoral land close to the agricultural township of Prairie, about 300 km southwest of Townsville. We’re but to listen to of any progress with the opposite wind initiatives which were placed on maintain.
The vitality tussles proceed in any respect ranges of presidency. Australia’s latest federal election has reinstalled a progressive Labour (cf Democrat) Home of Representatives with an elevated majority. Nonetheless, Labour doesn’t have a transparent majority within the Senate the place the Greens will maintain the stability of energy. The implications are that there will likely be extra progress within the battle over local weather change. One in every of Labour’s vote-winning guarantees was subsidised residence batteries. With Australia’s large rooftop photo voltaic penetration, this could imply a proliferation of digital energy crops and a discount in using fuel peaker crops. The photo voltaic duck and the night peak demand could also be in for an enormous transition. Queensland has one of many highest ranges of rooftop photo voltaic in Australia — or the world as an entire.
At a neighborhood stage, Brisbane is transferring to cut back citywide emissions from its bus fleet with the enlargement of the City Metro. The town is in preparation mode for the 2032 Olympics. Majella had an opportunity to look at these automobiles up shut on a latest go to to the CBD.
So, regardless of the clear win for the atmosphere at a federal stage, the vitality battles proceed. Progress is being made. Though, generally it appears like two steps ahead, one step sideways, and a step backwards. (With a do-si-do, maybe?)
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