. These transmission lines will connect the solar- and wind-rich areas of northwestern Queensland with the industrial hub of Townsville. The communities of Mt Isa , Cloncurry, Hughenden, and the North West Minerals Province will be connected to the national electricity grid.
With Townsville set to become a major green hydrogen hub, having reliable and competitively priced electricity will accelerate the proposed energy projects. Copperstring 2 should mean thousands of new jobs and a major economic uplift for Queensland and Australia. The north of Australia is sparsely populated. This project may mean a shift northward from the southern states — not just for the sun , but for well paying jobs.
“Copperstring is the most significant investment in economic infrastructure in North Queensland in generations,” Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement. She also called it “a smart, future focused investment.” “North Queensland provided the copper during the second industrial revolution to transport electricity and now stands at the centre of the clean energy industrial revolution,” the premier said. “By partnering with all levels of government Sun Metals and Ark Energy have paved the way for future critical minerals processing plants in North Queensland. Already we have seen Queensland Pacific Metals secure an agreement with General Motors to supply minerals for electric vehicle batteries.
“There is already interest from companies in using the facility and once the market sees the quality of Queensland’s valuable resources for themselves, they will have confidence to invest in commercial scale facilities and downstream manufacturing infrastructure creating thousands of good skilled jobs for Queenslanders.”
Previously known as CuString, the project has been under development for some years as a private venture. In late 2021, CuString secured approval from the Electricity Transmission Authority for the proposed 2.0 version of the new link. CuString CEO John Obrienthat this project is “the largest expansion of the NEM ever undertaken.” KPMG predicted that it could unlock AU$60 billion worth of investment over the next 2 decades.