At the Politics & Business Breakfast hosted by Business News, the Hon. Amber-Jade Sanderson MLA, WA’s Minister for Energy, Decarbonisation, Manufacturing, Skills & TAFE, and the Pilbara, placed industry, infrastructure, and community at the heart of Western Australia’s energy transition.
Minister Sanderson opened with a clear statement of purpose, saying “We will become a clean energy powerhouse. And we will make more things in WA.
The two goals are inseparable.”
This vision is backed by more than $6.4 billion in energy and decarbonisation initiatives since 2017, positioning WA as a national leader in rooftop solar integration, grid-scale battery storage, and Standalone Power Systems.
The newly released SWIS Transmission Plan marks a major step forward. It outlines how WA will expand its grid to support industrial growth and decarbonisation, with investments in the Clean Energy Link – North and East, and upgrades across Kwinana, Kemerton, and the Coolangatta Industrial Estate.
“This plan is real,” Minister Sanderson said, “with tangible details on each stage from now until 2030 and beyond.”
Collie, once the home of WA’s coal industry, is now central to clean energy plans. With nearly $700 million invested in its transition, the town is attracting new industries like graphite processing and green steel.
“Collie has been at the heart of Western Australia’s energy system for more than a century,” Minister Sanderson said. “It is only natural that it is the centre
of our clean energy transition.”
In the Pilbara, the government is pushing for common-user infrastructure to support green hydrogen, ammonia, and low-carbon fuels. “The Pilbara makes an outsized contribution to our region and our nation,” Sanderson said.
“It offers opportunities in CCUS, green metals and low carbon fuels at a scale which few other places in the world can match.” With support from Traditional Owners
and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, WA is positioning the Pilbara as a global clean energy hub. CorridorCo has been established to fast-track transmission
corridors, and $3 billion in concessional finance has been unlocked from the Albanese Government’s Rewiring the Nation Fund.
To support this transformation, Minister Sanderson announced new procurement rules for WA’s energy utilities. Western Power, Horizon Power, and Synergy
will now be required to prioritise local suppliers and explain when they don’t.
She concluded by reaffirming her vision, saying, “We can make more things here. We can power WA on clean energy – from the South West to the Pilbara.
We can supply the materials required for the world’s clean energy transition.”