Federal Government to Help Western Australia Build More Solar, Wind Projects

Solar panels are seen on a roof in Albany, Western Australia, on March 29, 2024. (Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times)

The federal Labor government has committed to helping Western Australia (WA) build more renewable energy projects in the coming years.

On July 22, the WA government signed the Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement, becoming the fifth jurisdiction to join the bilateral energy partnership with the federal government.

The federal government said the agreement with WA would “knock over” the barriers that prevented the state from developing renewable energy projects.

Under the agreement, the federal government will underwrite a minimum of 6.5 terawatt hours of new wind and solar projects and 1.1 gigawatts of new storage in WA.

The federal government explained that the investments would help stabilise the power grid and ensure that WA has sufficient “cheap dispatchable power” during peak times while improving energy reliability and affordability.

In exchange, the WA government has pledged to shut down its state-owned coal-fired fleets by 2030 and replace them with renewable electricity generation and storage.

At the same time, both the WA and federal governments have committed to improving engagement with and delivering better economic outcomes for the local community.

This includes boosting Indigenous people’s participation and benefits, enhancing skills and workforce development, and reinforcing renewable energy supply chains.

WA also opened bidding for the state’s first Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) tender.

The CIS is a national scheme that aims to deliver an additional 32 gigawatts of renewable generation and storage in Australia by 2030.

The first capacity tender in WA is expected to provide 2,000 megawatt hours of dispatchable capacity in the state’s Wholesale Electricity Market, which could power around 450,000 homes.

The agreement’s signing comes as recent forecasts (pdf) by the Australian Energy Market Operator have indicated that the state could face a gas deficit between 2024 and 2029, with potential supply from committed and expected projects up to 11 percent below forecast demand.

The report also warned WA would need additional gas sources from 2030 onward to meet increasing demand.

Government’s Response

Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen welcomed the signing of the agreement, saying it was the only solution for providing cheap energy for WA.

“Through our Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement, we’re collaborating to lower the remaining obstacles to the delivery of energy infrastructure and ensuring progress continues seamlessly across jurisdictions,” he said.

“The Albanese government’s reliable renewables plan is the only plan backed by experts to deliver the cheap, reliable and resilient energy system that families and businesses deserve.”

WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby said the state was already investing $5 billion (US$3.32 billion) in solar and wind farms and battery storage.

In addition, he believed the opening of bidding for the CIS would drive up WA’s decarbonisation efforts.

“We want to continue providing WA households and businesses with clean, reliable, and affordable power,” Mr. Whitby said.

“The procurement of additional storage will be critical for firming wind and solar power during peak demand, complementing existing public and private investment in big batteries in Collie and Kwinana.”

Meanwhile, Shadow Energy Minister Ted O'Brien has criticised the federal government’s renewable energy policy.

“What we know, at the moment, is that the prime minister and Chris Bowen have us on this 100 percent‘ renewables only’ path, which is what’s driving up the price of your power bill,” he said during an event on July 22.

“It’s what is making our system unreliable. So, when the energy regulator talks about blackouts and brownouts into the future, that’s based on Labor’s current policy.”

In addition, Mr. O'Brien stated that nuclear power would deliver cheaper, greener, and more reliable power for the country.

“The Coalition’s policy of renewables, of gas, and nuclear, is absolutely essential to keeping the lights on–to having cheaper power and to making sure that we can reduce our emissions,” he said.

“As for the top 20 economies in the world, Australia’s the only one that doesn’t have or hasn’t signed up to using nuclear in their energy mix.”