Business opportunities start to flow from Borumba pumped hydro project

Queensland Hydro returns to Imbil and Gympie this week for two more community drop-in sessions where the Borumba Dam pumped hydro energy storage project team will update the community on some early insights from the preliminary studies it’s been undertaking for a report to the Queensland Government in 2023.

The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan has pumped hydro at the centre of Queensland’s transformation to a clean, affordable and reliable energy system to meet renewable energy targets of 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035.

Queensland Hydro’s two projects – Borumba and Pioneer-Burdekin (west of Mackay) - are flagship projects for the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.

Queensland Hydro Interim CEO Chris Evans said the Borumba Project team was looking forward to updating the Imbil and Gympie communities on some of the insights from preliminary studies conducted over the past few months.

“We will be sharing some preliminary findings of the hydrological study while we continue to work with the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water to finalise their study as a part of the Mary Basin Water Plan revision,” Mr Evans said.

“We’ll also be sharing with stakeholders, the process we undertook for the ecology study - outlining the study area, some of the key species that were identified in the first round of the ecology survey and revealing the next steps.

“On the traffic and transport study, the project team met with key traffic and transport stakeholders last month to start discussions around their concerns of dust, noise and the volume of traffic that the project will create during the construction phase.

“We recognise that traffic and transport is a key issue for local stakeholders and we will continue to engage with the community and work with them to address concerns.”

Earlier this month, representatives of Queensland Hydro and Powerlink attended a Kabi Kabi First Nations Native Title Claim Group community meeting where they presented on the project, including the proposed transmission lines within their claim area.

Queensland Hydro outlined the engagement and cultural heritage studies undertaken to date and the process proposed for the negotiation of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA). The project team responded to many questions about the project and have committed to return to meet with the wider Kabi Kabi Native Title native title group in 2023.

Representatives from Powerlink will also be at the community information sessions to talk about the progress with its transmission study.

November Queensland Hydro Community Drop-In Sessions:

Wednesday November 23: 3pm – 7pm – Mary Valley Memorial Hall (Imbil RSL), 127 Yabba Road, Imbil

Thursday, November 24: 3pm – 6 pm – The Pavilion, 77 Exhibition Road, Southside.