Mining Lease Application Notices as at 29 April 2016

Each week, our Landowner Lawyer shares the Queensland Government Mining Lease Application Notices.

Details of current mining lease applications: Mining Noticesas at 29 April 2016.

According to Queensland law, anyone can object to a mining lease application or current environmental authority application for a mining lease. The objection period is a minimum of 20 business days. Make sure your objection is lodged by 4.30 pm on the last day of objections.

If you believe you are affected by a mining lease application or if you would like further information, please contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on 07 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

AgForce Qld - Employers Toolbox

Mitigating Workplace Risk

Rees R & Sydney Jones Partner, Justin Houlihan recently spoke at an Emerald Agricultural College information session on Mitigating Workplace Risk in a Rural Environment.

Some of the commonly encountered issues he discussed were:

• No Workplace Health & Safety Policy and Safety Management System in place. If it is in place, it is either limited and lacking in detail or not enforced or followed.
• Equipment, vehicles and machinery are unsafe or defective due to lack of maintenance, modification or age.
• Worker isn’t competent to operate equipment or machinery due to a lack of training or no competency assessment.
• No personal protective equipment provided or the wearing of personal protective equipment wasn’t enforced.
• No induction.
• Inadequate training and/or supervision.
• Lack of records and reporting.

Many of the attendees expressed an interest in obtaining resources that would help them meet their workplace health and safety obligations.

AgForce Queensland has answered the call by producing an Employers Toolbox. This toolbox provides rural employers with information and the templates to assist in meeting their obligations under industrial relations (Fairwork), human resources and work health and safety legislation.

Arrow Update February 2016

Melanie Findlay and Emma Kime from our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team attended the AgForce February 2016 Member Meeting in Middlemount to discuss the current position of the Arrow pipeline.

Below is a brief summary of the presentation. The full presentation can be view here, Arrow Update.

Arrow Bowen Pipeline Project

The gas project initially comprised of:

• LNG plant Gladstone
• Bowen Gas Project
• ABP (pipeline from Bowen)
• Surat Gas Project
• ASP (pipeline from the Surat)

Additional articles written by our team on the project are “Strategic Cropping Land Declarations at Risk” and “What is a a Pipeline??”

What Now?

Arrow is joint venture of Shell and PetroChina.

December 2015 – the project has been delayed/shelved as gas and oil prices continue to lower.

Shell has recently sold off natural gas and shale assets in Northern America and walked away from the Alaskan Artic project worth $7B.

Energy is an Evolving Industry

The change in attitude towards coal fired power is seeing the closure of coal mines both overseas and in Australia. New technology is bringing down the costs of solar. Renewable energy is definitely an area to watch.

Our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness Partner, Melanie Findlay can be contacted on 07 4927 6333 or enquire@reesjones.com.au.

ARENA data release and large-scale solar projects shortlisted

ARENA data release and large-scale solar projects shortlisted

ARENA have released a summary of the data sourced from their competitive expressions of interest (EOI) round. 

In the EOI round, solar and renewable energy companies were invited to submit a proposal in a bid to secure a portion of the $1000 million in funding that has been set aside for large-scale solar projects. ARENA received proposals for 75 large-scale projects in the EOI round. 

ARENA assessed the EOI applications last year and have since listed 22 projects that are invited to proceed to the full application stage. 10 projects that have been invited to proceed to the full application stage are located in Queensland.

If the Queensland projects are successful in securing funding from ARENA, it is likely that we will see large-scale solar projects in Baralaba, Longreach, Hughenden, Dalby, Collinsville, Oakey, Proserpine and Ipswich.

Full applications must be submitted to ARENA by 15 June 2016. 

Links:
http://arena.gov.au/programmes/advancing-renewables-programme/large-scale-solar-pv/
http://arena.gov.au/resources/large-scale-solar-pv-competitive-round-eoi-application-data/

See also, Emma Kime's article "Solar Projects: The Prospecting Race and ARENA Funding"

Solar Projects: The Prospecting Race & ARENA Funding

UPDATE: The Solar Race

The “solar prospecting race” is continuing to heat up with in Central Queensland. Farmers and landowners are being approached by solar and renewable energy companies interested in building large-scale solar farms on their land.

Solar Projects – On-farm Income

Solar projects and farms are an opportunity for farmers and landowners to earn a different form of “on-farm” income. In addition to directly benefiting the farmers and landowners, solar projects and farms can have a wider impact on rural communities in Queensland. These projects offer a relatively reliable energy source and create job opportunities during the construction of the solar farm.

Australian Renewable Energy Agency

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has recently announced that 10 large-scale solar projects in Queensland have been selected to proceed from the proposal stage to the full application stage. The projects selected are able to bid to secure Federal Government funding. A full list of these solar projects can be found on the ARENA website.

The Federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt has said “the shortlisted proposals were chosen from a very strong field, demonstrating Australia is ready to invest in utility-scale renewable energy options suited to the 21st century”.

If Federal Government funding is received by solar and renewable energy companies, we are set to see large-scale solar projects located in Dalby, Proserpine, Oakey, Hughenden, Longreach, Baralaba and Ipswich.

If you have been approached by a solar or renewable energy company or have questions about the potential opportunities, including the use of your property for clean energy or renewable projects, our Rural, Mining and Gas Agribusiness Team can help.

Please contact either Melanie Findlay or Emma Kime of Rees R & Sydney Jones for further information. 

You may also be interested in reading other articles written by Melanie Findlay such as Solar Farm Opportunities for Landowners.