PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has backed a plan by the state government to potentially develop a hydro-electricity power station at Burdekin Falls dam.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over the weekend said a plan to increase the Burdekin Falls dam capacity by 150 000 megalitres to more than two-million metalitres was already being assessed by the state government, working with the federal government under the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund.

The Premier said the government wanted to now investigate establishing a hydro-electric power station, which could generate 150 gigawatt hours - the equivalent of the annual energy use of 30 000 homes - based on the current size and more if the dam was raised.

"This project is critical for the development of northern Australia," she said.

The dam is currently at 101% of its 1.86-million megaliter storage capacity.

"The hydro-electric potential in the Burdekin has been talked about since the 1940s. It was last proposed in 2014, but the proponent shelved the project amid disarray in Abbott-Turnbull government energy policy, at a time when the Nicholls-Newman Government remained firmly anti-renewables" she said.

Palaszczuk has now called on the federal government to work with its state counterpart to develop a Burdekin hydro business case to complement the strategic assessment under way on the raising of the Burdekin Falls dam by 2 m to store more water and generate electricity.

QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane said all options needed to be on the table to secure the state’s future energy mix.

“The establishment of a small hydroelectric power station at the state’s largest dam will add much needed supply into the east coast electricity market,” Macfarlane said.

He also urged the Queensland government to consider the development of the Tully Millstream hydro project to provide even more base load power in North Queensland.

“Once again Queensland is setting an example for southern states on how to run a balanced energy policy by considering all options - coal, gas, renewables – to deliver affordable, reliable energy,” Macfarlane said.

“But if we are to be agnostic in terms of the sources of energy the government should also support the addition of a modern high efficiency, low emission (HELE) power plant in Townsville, using some of the highest quality, low emission coal in the world right here in Queensland.

“If this region is to generate jobs and develop to its full potential it must have its own stable power generation including both hydroelectricity and coal-fired power supply,” Macfarlane said.