The economic imperative for offshore wind power is not as strong in WA as elsewhere, Energy, Environment and Climate Action Minister Reece Whitby told a CEDA event this month.

Mr Whitby joined Mines and Petroleum and Ports Minister David Michael as guest speakers at
the CEDA State of the State forum.

In a panel discussion canvassing opportunities for the State and its future energy mix, Mr Whitby said that while offshore wind had been mentioned, “that's a very expensive exercise”.

“While the (Federal) Government has that process, I think the opportunities in Western Australia, with our large land mass and our amazing wind resources onshore means that the economic imperative is probably not as strong as it is elsewhere,” he said.

Mr Whitby referred to the “democratisation of energy”.

“It's no longer a single utility in the SWIS,” he said. “There is so much opportunity across the
market, and it's looking different. It might be different types of batteries. I was recently in Kununurra for the commissioning of a vanadium flow battery.

“It would be nice if we could just, tomorrow, walk away from fossil fuels. It's not possible. We do need to continue with the role of fossil fuels (but) we’re exiting coal.

“Gas is critical; gas is the advantage. You can dial it up and down, and that's the perfect match to renewables.”

Earlier, he said that as an indication of how the energy mix was changing, on the previous Sunday renewable energy was responsible for powering 85 per cent
of the South West Interconnected System.

More than 40 per cent of WA homes have solar installed.

“That means there are more than 450,000 systems in our State, and every year households install another 25,000 systems either on new homes or existing homes,” Mr Whitby said.

“That's the equivalent of building two new gas-fired power stations in Western Australia every year. Two new gas-fired power stations every year on the roofs of private homes.

“So, we're seeing our State being powered by household rooftop solar, onshore wind, and supported by large-scale battery storage and firmed by gas,
which is critical while investing in new clean energy industries.

“We must continue to support decarbonisation through our exports and supplying the world with the minerals needed to build solar panels and batteries
and displacing coal with more flexible energy sources like gas.

“So again, we bear a burden for the entire planet to do what we do very well in this State and provide those critical minerals and other commodities that
help build the energy transition.

“Ultimately, our transition, though, begins at home. That's why we're committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

“At the same time, Western Australia's economy is continuing to boom. This means our energy demand at home is also growing at a time when the entire
energy system needs to be replaced.

“Domestically, we're retiring our State-owned coal-fired power by 2030. It's not a small job, given we are a stand-alone grid.

“The challenge is that our State has relied on coal electricity.

“Rooftop solar is a big part of the solution, but we know the sun doesn't always shine. This means we need more flexible and reliable sources of energy.
That way we can support households to continue installing rooftop solar and invest in and pursue onshore wind developments.”

Mr Whitby said the energy issues in the north of the State where more pronounced. While the Pilbara is responsible for 20 per cent of Gross State Product,
just 2 per cent of its energy needs are met by renewables.

“This has to change,” he said. “We must ensure the region is properly serviced by common user infrastructure, and this will provide traditional owners and
households and businesses in our State’s north, where we have many energy hungry industries that desire green electrons.

“We want to provide them with an energy system that can provide those clean, reliable, affordable energy options, and it's how we unlock WA’s future
as a green energy superpower.”

The Government would soon announce the preferred operators of four different transmission lines across the Pilbara to start building a common-user,
shared power transmission network.

He said these developments demanded a regulatory framework that is modern and responsive, “which is why we embarked upon the most comprehensive
reform of our environmental assessment framework in a generation”.

“Our proposed changes streamline processes, reduce duplication, improve efficiency. They are sensible changes that retain all of our State's high standards
of environmental protection while ensuring WA is economy,” Mr Whitby said.

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