In 2024, Kestrel Coal Resources secured a partnership with the Queensland Government, through the Low Emissions Investment Partnerships (LEIP) program, to support a 30MW coal mine waste gas power station project.
Kestrel will expand the mine’s underground gas drainage system and install new infrastructure to transport the captured methane to the power station, where it will be combusted to generate electricity, reducing overall carbon emissions.
Following a tendering process which concluded in October 2024, Kestrel selected low carbon energy solutions provider, Enernet Global, to develop, construct, own and operate the 30MW power station.
Since October, Enernet Global and Kestrel have been collaboratively developing the project, a process that includes legislative approvals, surveys and pre-design work.
Enernet Global has engaged GHD to support the process of securing a grid connection approval. The parties have dedicated the past 10 months to navigating this process while working closely with the regulator, ‘AEMO‘, and electricity network provider ‘Energy Queensland’.
The connection application process is scheduled for completion in spring and triggers a key milestone, enabling construction work to commence.
The project has been registered with the Clean Energy Regulator for carbon credits and is expected to reduce mining emissions by over one million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
The 30MW power station will generate enough energy to power the equivalent of more than 40,000 homes with gas each year and increase the reliability of the electricity grid in the region.