CS Energy is an Australia-based electricity generating company fully owned by the Government of Queensland with its head office located in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. The company was established in 1997 and employs more than 500 staff.[1] Adam Aspinall is the Board Chair and Darren Busine is the Chief Executive Officer.
 | |
| Company type | Government-owned corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Brisbane , Australia |
Area served | Queensland |
Key people | Darren Busine CEO Adam Aspinall Chairman |
| Products | Electricity |
| Owner | Government of Queensland |
Number of employees | 500+ |
| Website | www |
The company's generation portfolio comprises coal-fired power stations, energy storage[2] and renewable energy offtakes.[3] CS Energy has a trading portfolio of 3,535 megawatts in Australia's national electricity market. The company owns and operates Kogan Creek Power Station and Callide B Power Station. CS Energy also owns Callide Power Station in a 50/50 joint venture with InterGen.
CS Energy is adding the 100 MW/200 MWh Chinchilla Battery grid-scale battery to its Kogan Creek site on the Western Downs.[4] Construction is currently underway[as of?] on the battery and it is expected to be operational in late 2023.[5][needs update]
CS Energy was awarded A$32 million in 2010 to help construct Australia's first large-scale solar thermal project at Kogan Creek Power Station.[6] Funding was provided by the Rudd Government under the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program. However, in March 2016, it was announced that CS Energy would 'pull the plug' on that project,[7] at a loss of $40M to CS Energy and $6M to ARENA.
In 2020, Stanwell and CS Energy were accused of driving up prices by creating an artificial lack of supply.[8] CS Energy and Stanwell are defending a class action filed by a law firm and backed by litigation funders related to historical electricity prices. CS Energy has publicly rejected the claims being made and is strongly defending the class action.[9] An initial hearing is scheduled to commence in the Federal Court of Australia in June 2024.
Assets
Major assets owned by CS Energy include:
- Callide Power Station
- Kogan Creek Power Station and Kogan Creek Mine
- Chinchilla Battery (commissioning stage)[10]
- Greenbank Battery (under construction)[11]
Management
Martin Moore was the CEO in 2017. Andrew Bills was appointed as CEO in 2018 and resigned in February 2023 following his appointment as CEO of SA Power Networks.[12] Darren Busine was appointed as the new permanent CEO in June 2023.[13]
In June 2023, Jim Soorley resigned as Chairman of CS Energy.[14] Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni confirmed Mr Soorley “has made the decision” to leave the role he has held since 2015 and will be replaced by CS Energy director Adam Aspinall.[15]
