Category: News

With nearly 20 years in the Queensland energy sector, CS Energy’s Head of Renewable and Firming Operations, Michael Johnstone, is more excited than ever about the future.  

Michael is tasked with bringing CS Energy’s new assets online as part of the company’s strategy to build a more diverse portfolio to support Queensland’s clean energy future.   

“Fundamentally, my job is to ensure that on project completion we can trade and operate the new assets safely, that customer needs are met and that we deliver a commercial return for the business,” Michael said.  

“My role is at the forefront of how CS Energy is supporting the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan. How well we do this now will have a lasting impact on the business well into the future.” 

Michael has led teams at power stations, and at the corporate level, in engineering, asset management and major projects. He says he is excited by the opportunity to help drive the energy transformation and sees CS Energy as ideally positioned to take a leading role in Queensland. 

“CS Energy’s Callide and Kogan Creek power stations will play an important role in the future as clean energy hubs.  

“These power stations are located in strong parts of the network and have strategic advantages such as highly skilled workers, grid connection, water allocations, available land and established community relationships. 

“The Kogan Creek Clean Energy Hub is our first, and most advanced energy hub, and features battery and green hydrogen projects now under construction.” 

As CS Energy starts to incorporate these new energy sources in its portfolio, Michael said he was most excited about the development opportunities they will provide employees.  

“Our employees have highly transferable technical and operational skills, combined with a strong safety mindset. 

“We have formed strategic partnerships with industry experts such as Tesla, IHI, Senex Energy and Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise to help us bring these projects to fruition. 

“By partnering with experts in their fields, we are using our funding to the best and highest advantage, while also enabling our people to gain skills and benefits that would otherwise not be available.” 

In March this year, our EGM Future Energy Emma Roberts attended the 10th annual Australian Domestic Gas Outlook as a panellist and discussed the role and growth of both natural and renewable gas in Australia.  

Emma shares some insights on this emerging fuel below. 

What is renewable gas? 

Renewable gas doesn’t produce any greenhouse gas emissions when it is made or used. Examples of renewable gas are biomethane and renewable hydrogen. 

What role could renewable gases like hydrogen play in the power grid?  

Renewable hydrogen has the potential to provide electricity to the grid when other energy sources (such as wind and solar) are not available. 

While blending renewable hydrogen with natural gas will provide lower emissions gas over the coming decade, the objective is to shift towards 100% renewable hydrogen to provide dispatchable electricity, particularly during times of peak demand. 

What are some of the issues to be overcome to make the shift? 

In the short term, it will be important for energy producers to take advantage of declining technology costs and economies of scale to reduce production costs. 

Hydrogen-ready gas turbines will create a demand for hydrogen that encourages increased production capability, in readiness for rising domestic demand from industrial feedstock and the transport industry.   

Natural gas and renewable hydrogen are likely to need to co-exist for some time yet, as technology and industry continue to evolve.  

What are the other potential uses for renewable hydrogen? 

Renewable hydrogen shows enormous promise for decarbonising heavy road transport. It even could be applied to marine transport. For example, some of the renewable hydrogen produced at our Kogan demonstration plant will be exported to the Republic of Palau as part of a multi-party project to assess its use in fuel cells and marine vessels.  

There are also emerging markets such as sustainable aviation fuel which could provide near-term opportunities.  

It is now up to the electricity and gas industry and governments to invest and explore all the options as we transition to Net Zero and consider the export potential of Australia in the future. 

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Learn more about the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook here 

As a major provider of electricity in Queensland since 1997, CS Energy recognises that we have a leading role to play in developing creative solutions to the state’s future energy requirements. 

The energy sector is undergoing the most profound change seen in generations. Governments and business around the world are grappling with the ‘energy trilemma’ of balancing affordability, sustainability and reliability. 

While the future energy market is uncertain, we know that the future generation mix will primarily be renewable. Battery storage, hydrogen, virtual power plants and rooftop solar panels will also play a larger role in the grid. And customers will have more choice and more power about the energy they purchase. 

In recent years, CS Energy has been evolving from a thermal generator into a diversified energy business exploring new technologies, products and partnerships. We are pursuing diversification opportunities that expand our customer base, leverage technology and renewables, and respond to opportunities in distributed generation. 

As we transform our business, we are mindful of the significant role we play in the towns and communities in which we operate, and where most of our employees live and work. Our transition to the energy of tomorrow can only happen in partnership with our communities, our employees and their families. CS Energy’s path to sustainability must be aligned with and informed by their expectations and first-hand experience. 

That’s why our future energy investment program is focussed on the regions where we operate – the Western Downs and Central Queensland. We are exploring greenfield opportunities, such as the Banana Range Wind Farm, as well as repurposing our existing sites into “energy hubs”.  

These hubs will utilise the existing attributes of our power station sites – highly skilled workforces, available land, water and transmission connections. We’ve already started this process at Kogan Creek where we’ve announced green hydrogen and battery projects. It’s an approach that we plan to replicate in Central Queensland in and around our Callide Power Station site near Biloela.

Converting publicly owned coal-fired power stations into future clean energy hubs is also a key feature of the State Government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.

Of course, with new energy technology, we will need to form new partnerships and develop new skills. We are excited to be working with Tesla and IHI Engineering Australia delivering our new projects at Kogan Creek. The opportunity for our people to work alongside and learn from these industry experts is enormously valuable. 

At the local level, our hydrogen skills mapping partnership with Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise is tapping into the skills and capabilities of local suppliers to participate in the hydrogen value chain. 

As we transition, we are mindful of all aspects of sustainability. Reducing emissions is an important driver, but it must occur in a way that keeps electricity affordable and supports the ongoing prosperity of regional communities.  

To learn more about CS Energy’s Future Energy initiatives visit https://www.facebook.com/csenergytomorrow