Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) has opened a formal call for proposals under the state government’s AU$200 million (US$143 million) North West Energy Fund in Australia.
The state-owned organisation is inviting energy developers, generators, electricity distributors, industrial customers, and local governments to bid for investment in generation and storage projects across the North West Minerals Province (NWMP).
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The fund will consider proposals ranging from new energy generation projects and gas and battery storage systems to broader support for the North West Power System.
Alongside advancing localised energy solutions, work will be undertaken to define the operational and infrastructure requirements to coordinate and de-risk future investments in the region, informing planning for the CopperString Western Link between Hughenden and Mount Isa.
The call for proposals follows a market sounding process in which QIC engaged with more than 20 organisations, including developers, suppliers, and local governments in and around Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek and Richmond.
QIC has published investment guidelines for potential partners, setting out two key criteria: proposals must either deliver benefits from or reach commercial operations by 2030, and must demonstrate an improved cost of delivered power in the NWMP and surrounding regions.
QIC head of global infrastructure Ross Israel said the market sounding had provided key insights, enabling QIC to fast-track opportunities to connect private capital with priority projects.
“Supporting near-term investable projects that deliver reliable, affordable and sustainable energy will help unlock economic development opportunities in the North West,” Israel said.
“A critical piece of this work will be undertaking the work required to define the end-state system to optimise the opportunity set in the region.”
The North West Energy Fund was established in response to cost blowouts that reshaped Queensland’s CopperString transmission project.
The 1,100km high-voltage transmission line from Townsville to Mount Isa, which is intended to connect the NWMP to the National Electricity Market (NEM) for the first time, saw its total cost estimate rise from AU$1.8 billion when first proposed to more than AU$13.6 billion under the former Labour government.
The Crisafulli government scaled back the project, reverting the Eastern Link capacity from 500kV to the original 330kV, and announced the AU$200 million North West Energy Fund to support bespoke local solutions at Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek and Richmond while the Western Link remains under assessment.
The Eastern Link from Townsville to Hughenden is targeted for completion by 2032, with early works progressing on the AU$225 million Flinders Substation.
The Western Link, which would extend the transmission connection from Hughenden to Mount Isa, has no confirmed construction commitment, leaving the North West Energy Fund as the primary near-term mechanism for improving energy reliability west of Hughenden before any grid interconnection.
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