THE renewable energy industry could lead Australia out of the pandemic-induced economic crisis, as the Queensland government announces the nation's largest solar farm will be built in Darling Downs.
The federal and state governments are prepared to make the industry a key pillar of their stimulus packages, because projects create hundreds of construction jobs relatively quickly, while producing the long-term benefit of easing the nation's transition away from fossil fuels.
The Queensland government is the first to take the plunge, backing a 400-megawatt solar farm near Chinchilla.
Publicly-owned generator CleanCo will buy 320MW from farm owner Neoen, which will power about 235,000 Queensland homes.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement at the Smart Energy Council summit on Wednesday, which focused on using renewable energy projects to revitalise the economy after coronavirus.
"As we further develop our economic recovery plan, I'll be having more to say about how we support our infrastructure to unlock renewable energy zones in Queensland," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"Our economy is very resilient because it's diverse and it's decentralised. I see a future where renewables and new technologies support even more jobs in more industries across our regions."
Darling Downs Environment Council director Paul King said the solar farm was a "pleasant surprise".
"It comes hot on the heels of the Coopers Gap wind farm, so all of a sudden this region will be able to power more than half a million homes in two fell swoops," Mr King said.
The New Economy chief executive Amanda Cahill said renewable projects made wonderful stimulus packages for regional areas, with both short- and long-term benefits.
"It diversifies regional economies and has a real multiplier effect," Ms Cahill said.
"Often the loudest voices are businesses and industries, because they know renewable energy is cheaper to produce.
"Once the infrastructure is up, it's way more competitive than coal and gas.
"Industries want access to that cheaper power and that opens up the regions to so many opportunities."
Energy ministers from the ACT, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria also took part in the online renewable energy stimulus summit.
Victoria's Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said renewable energy projects would play a vital role helping coronavirus recovery efforts.
"We strongly believe that the transition to clean energy offers enormous opportunities to create jobs and drive economic growth, and we are taking action to identify and exploit those opportunities," she said.