Session 11. Oral Presentation for: Repurposing geological voids for compressed air energy storage and the need for regulatory review

Presented on 20 May 2026: Session 11 Australia’s energy transition to the year 2050 will be based on decreased dependency on coal-fired generation, a bigger role for gas and a range of renewable technologies backed up by energy storage, especially long-duration large-scale energy storage. However, as demonstrated by clean energy deployment in Australia in recent years, regulatory uncertainty and complexity, along with integration challenges and community resistance, have slowed the pace of the energy transition. This paper considers compressed air energy storage (CAES) as an option to support grid stability and renewable energy integration for Australia. Abundant geological resources in Australia, including gas fields and mineral sites, could be converted to CAES plants, as is happening in other parts of the world. Both technical and decommissioning challenges need to be addressed to achieve that. However, a greater barrier may be that the current regulations in Australia do not always permit such repurposing. Taking Queensland as an example, the current petroleum and mineral acts are reviewed to identify the possible legislative gaps that inhibit transforming legacy resource sites into strategic CAES assets. Additionally, government engagement is needed on issues such as long-term land access for CAES operations and clarification of rehabilitation liabilities between miners and CAES operators. To access the Oral Presentation click ‘Supplementary data’ below. To read the full paper click here