Nexa Advisory has analysed the performance of coal-fired power stations across the National Electricity Market (NEM). This report is part of a series of case studies which examines the reliability and performance of each of these generators as they approach the end of their technical lives.
This report analyses the performance of the 1,680 MW Gladstone Power Station in Queensland between 2012 to 2024, and finds:
- Availability has collapsed. The average capacity factor of Gladstone has sunk below 45 per cent since 2020, well under the black-coal fleet average of around 55 per cent. This low output is driven by a high average total downtime across its six units of 14,800 hours in that period – equivalent to each unit remaining offline for over 14 weeks per year.
- Unplanned outages are frequent and persist despite an increase in planned maintenance hours. Unplanned outage hours have risen by around 65 per cent since 2020. This means that, despite an increase in planned outages to allow for maintenance, unplanned outages still account for almost half of all downtime.
- Gladstone’s reliability is notably worse than other coal-fired generators in the NEM. Its annual unplanned outage rate has averaged 18 per cent since 2012, peaking at 34 per cent in 2022 (and averaging 4,200 hours a year since 2020). This is considerably higher than the 13.7 per cent rate assumed in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) planning.
Despite its poor performance and low output, Gladstone emitted 6 Mt CO₂-e in 2024. This represents about 8 per cent of the emissions reduction still needed to meet Queensland’s target of 75 per cent by 2035.
Recommendations
Nexa Advisory offers the Queensland Government several recommendations on the way forward:
- Commit to the timely closure of Gladstone Power Station: Provide certainty to investors and stakeholders by adhering to the planned retirement date, facilitating the timely development of replacement renewable capacity.
- Ensure timely transmission delivery: The Queensland Government and Powerlink must deliver the Gladstone Grid Reinforcement efficiently and on schedule by 2029.
- Identify and facilitate market-led intra-regional transmission and virtual transmission solutions: Work with developers, and in partnership with Powerlink, to unlock additional transmission hosting capacity by delivering market-led and non-network solutions such as ‘virtual transmission’.
- Lean into new capacity build: Maintain the current rate of renewable energy development and deliver the 18.5 GW of approved projects currently in the pipeline.
- Accelerate near-term approvals: Expedite planning approvals for projects deemed to be critical for the state’s energy transition.
- Prioritise and accelerate smaller modular and deep energy storage projects: Commit to smaller, more modular and deep energy storage projects as a replacement for the cancelled Pioneer-Burdekin project to maintain reliability.
- Leverage the untapped potential of consumer energy solutions for homes and businesses: Prioritise consumer energy solutions such as solar, home batteries, electric heat pumps, and EVs through incentives and targets.
Read our report here: Nexa Advisory – Gladstone Power Station case study