Queensland is poised to install up to $13.9 billion in renewable energy projects each year from now to 2050. But industry leaders and renewable investors say a massive recruitment task would be needed to find the extra 26,700 workers to build the projects.
A new report from Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) uses CSIRO modelling to estimate the human resources needed to realise Queensland’s renewable energy aspirations.
Queensland’s Renewable Future forecasts massive acceleration in the installation of renewable energy assets, triggering a step change in Queensland’s construction activity.
The report projects that renewables will require average annual capital expenditures of between $6.7 billion and $13.9 billion to 2050. This amounts to adding 30-55% to Queensland’s baseline level of engineering construction demand.
Projected demand will drive a parallel step-change in construction labour – an estimated 14,500 to 26,700 new construction jobs will be directly created by Queensland’s renewables build-out.
But CSQ CEO Brett Schimming warns the opportunity may not be realised without the necessary workforce on the ground.
“The appetite for investing in Queensland’s renewable future is strong; we have support from government, proponents lining up with their projects; and the strongest ever case for transition of our energy market,” Mr Schimming said.
“But all of these important elements still rely on having an available renewable workforce to physically deliver the projects in their locations.
“For an industry that is already suffering major labour shortages, being on the cusp of an explosion of new activity raises important questions around training and recruitment.
“What kind of strategy are we going to need to attract and develop these new local workforces?
“How do we provide security to investors and give them peace of mind that projects won’t suffer the cost and timing blow-outs created by skills shortages?
The CSQ report uses CSIRO modelling to project the construction and workforce impacts of three different renewable take-up scenarios, based on the role that green hydrogen ultimately plays in the Queensland economy.
“Green hydrogen will be the ‘hinge’ of Queensland’s renewable transition, determining the scale of renewables investment and the construction consequences,” Mr Schimming said.
“Yet, even in the most conservative modelled scenario, the impacts of Queensland’s renewables boom are going to be huge, particularly for the identified regional epicentres,” he said.