A gas deal with Senex Energy has brought the proposed 400MW Brigalow peaking power plant near Chinchilla a step closer.

Senex will supply up to 58.4 petajoules of natural gas from its Atlas development in the Surat Basin from 2027 under the 10-year agreement with CS Energy.

It comes after the Queensland Government pledged a $479 million investment in the 2025-26 State Budget for CS Energy to develop the Brigalow plant. 

Highlights:

• CS Energy and Senex Energy enter 10-year gas supply agreement
• Natural gas from Atlas to fuel proposed Brigalow power plant
• State sees growing importance in gas-fired generation

Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki said gas-powered generation formed a key part of the government’s Energy Roadmap to deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable power. 

“The roadmap includes extended coal generation, more low-cost energy production in wind and solar and more dispatchable supply including gas turbines, pumped hydro and batteries for firming and storage,” he said. 

“The need for new gas capacity is universal across all market outlooks to de-risk the energy system as it transitions over time.” 

Related: Pipeline plans advance for Brigalow peaking power plant

CS Energy chief executive officer Brian Gillespie said the Brigalow plant would be located next to the company’s Kogan Creek Power Station and close to the Chinchilla battery. 

“With its ability to perform multiple start and stop cycles per day, the Brigalow peaking power plant will be a reliable source of fast power when needed and produce significantly less emissions than electricity produced from coal,” Mr Gillespie said. 

Government-owned corporations Stanwell and CleanCo are also investigating gas-fired power projects at Gatton and Swanbank. 

Queensland is forecast to have up to 4.1GW of gas-fired generation capacity by 2030, increasing to between 6.1GW and 8.3GW by 2035. 

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