A small power station in the Queensland outback has received AUD$75 million from the state government to transition to renewable energy, becoming the second in the state to fuel electricity generation with hydrogen.

The Barcaldine Power Station is situated in central-west Queensland some 1,000 kilometres north of Brisban. The area has been described as “one of the best places in the world for generating large quantities of renewable energy.”

Work to construct a hydrogen generation unit alongside the existing gas-fired unit will commence in early 2025. The generation capacity of the power station is expected to almost double from 37 megawatts to 67 megawatts, with the gas fired unit being decommissioned over a five-to-seven-year period.