Calls to review regulations to meet renewables targets

Queensland would struggle to meet its renewable energy targets until it amended the current regulatory regime, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) said. AMEC is represented in Julia Creek today (Monday 17 Apr) where four vanadium exploration companies are presenting updates on their projects in the McKinlay-Richmond district of North-West Queensland. Vanadium has been touted as part of the renewable energy equation in the potential of developing vanadium redox flow batteries designed as large storage infrastructure for electricity generated from primary sources including solar and wind farms. Related: Forum to help charge up local vanadium sector The requirements for companies with neighbouring leases in generic country to all do the same environmental licensing consumed both time and resources, AMEC Queensland director Sarah Gooley said. AMEC Queensland director Sarah Gooley. Ms Gooley said regulators could learn a lot from the Multicom Resources experience, which is five years down the road in the application for a mining lease on Saint Elmo station near Julia Creek. “I'm not trying to minimise the values that are actually in that area,” she said. “It's quite a homogeneous landscape, so there are a lot of things that we could be doing too. “We could learn from Multicom and apply it broadly as opposed to requiring the other developers to go through the same extended processes that they had to go through. That’s one of the things that we've been talking about with departments. “Like geological hazard mapping. If you've got the same geology in an area then you could potentially apply the same conditions over the area because the hazards that you'll be dealing are similar for the other developments. “We'd be really keen to have some sort of standard conditioning being developed in light of the new critical minerals industries that are coming online.” Streamlining There were examples of administrative streamlining, including state development areas, which could be applied, Ms Gooley said. It was matter of urgency, she said. “There's no plan at the moment that is granular enough to see how that will be done and we really need to get some rubber on the road to show that we can actually achieve it. “I'm working in an environment of haste and just trying to seek real reform in how we get critical minerals projects up and running.” The vanadium forum takes place in Julia Creek and Richmond over two days and includes addresses from vanadium explorers QEM, Multicom Resources, Currie Rose and Richmond Vanadium Technology. Richmond Shire Mayor John Wharton will make a presentation on the proposed Richmond Inland Port. Other speakers include Dr Lynett Molyneaux from the Advanced Materials and Battery Council.

Calls to review regulations to meet renewables targets

Industry Queensland

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