16 January 2024.
From a primary producer's perspective, the establishment of "renewable energy zones" (REZs) is the key feature of the new Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Bill. The detail of what a REZ designation will mean is still to be announced by the Government, but it is likely to involve preferential treatment for renewable energy projects in planning approval processes, making it more likely that renewable energy projects will proceed to development in those areas.
Notably, the Bill does not propose fundamental changes to the rights of private landowners negotiating land access/use arrangements with renewable energy project proponents—this is a scenario in which private landowners currently enjoy healthy bargaining power (based on the right to say "no") and AgForce will advocate for that to continue. AgForce are currently authoring a submission to the Bill which will be available under the Resources tab on our website.
For further reading, we commend to you the article authored by our corporate members Thynne and Macartney: https://www.thymac.com.au/articles/renewable-energy-in-queensland/