Gladstone, located in Central Queensland, is a key industrial hub producing essential heavy manufacturing goods such as aluminium, cement and chemicals. While vital to Australia’s economic development, Gladstone’s industries are currently emissions-intensive. Most of these emissions are from the production of industrial heat, as almost 80% of energy used to generate heat comes from burning coal and gas. 

This report focuses on two key opportunities for industrial decarbonisation in Gladstone: replacing fossil fuels used for industrial heat with low-carbon alternatives and complementing this shift with industrial energy demand management.

Key findings

• Flexible energy demand management could save Gladstone’s industries $3 million per day in operating costs and slash demand at current peak periods by two gigawatts.
• Gladstone’s industrial emissions could be cut by almost two-thirds with a switch to low-emissions heat. More ambitious renewable energy plans could see an even greater reduction of nearly 80%.
• Electrifying Gladstone’s industries flexibly could provide 4.4 gigawatts of flexible power by 2040. This would double Australia’s current ability to stabilise the energy grid.
• Electrifying Gladstone’s industries and adding heat storage could cut wholesale electricity prices by as much as 60%.