1
Introduction
2
Context
3
South West Overview
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Transformative Opportunities
5
Positioning the South West
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Contact & Feedback
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The Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has recognised that WA’s energy generation has gone from 10% based on renewables a decade ago, to about a third generated by renewables today.
As fossil fuels are phased out, renewable energy technologies will need to come to the fore alongside battery storage capacity – and this will all need to be achieved at pace to ensure sufficient power availability for the region’s homes and industries.
The region sits in the core of the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), the world’s most isolated electricity grid. The SWIS is a network of transmission lines, and at the heart of that is Collie where coal-fired power stations have serviced the bulk of the state’s baseload energy needs for more than a century. Given that the SWIS distribution network features an existing 7,800km of transmission lines and 93,000km of distribution lines, it follows that renewable energy generation must plug into this valued infrastructure.
The Australian Government has identified an area in Geographe Bay to explore the possibility of offshore wind power generation and while there has been significant interest from potential proponents, it is too early to predict what may happen.
Land-based wind turbines present an opportunity for lower installation costs and cheaper maintenance. Sometimes unpopular with communities from a visual perspective, windfarms in New South Wales can now be developed in plantations, with transmission line corridors aligning with firebreaks and general infrastructure offering foresters a passive income between harvests.
Domestic rooftop solar has become so widespread (36% penetration) that it now contributes more than 2.5GW of energy to the grid. Driven by rising energy prices, half of all WA homes are expected to have solar by 2030.
The WA Government updated its Renewable Hydrogen Strategy in 2021 with a vision for export opportunities. However, the sector and commercial-scale technology is still emerging. Transport, particularly heavy vehicles and waste collection trucks, are expected to be the initial beneficiaries where the freight task is on a return-to-base model.
The WA domestic gas market is projected to be in deficit between 2024 and 2029, with potential supply from committed and expected projects up to 11% below forecast demand. Options available to alleviate some of this shortfall include: utilisation of gas in storage; and, the potential redirection of uncontracted liquefied natural gas (LNG). From 2030 onwards, further gas supplies are forecast to be required to meet increasing demand. It may be necessary for all Perth basin supplies to be committed for domestic use in the years ahead.
The first battery to be up and running is being built by French company, Neoen and delivered by Tesla. Work on the 219MW grid-scale battery will be completed by the end of 2024. State-owned utility, Synergy is building a 500MW /2,000 MWh capacity battery that is expected to be operational in 2027. That battery will be the largest in Western Australia and one of the largest in the world.
Synergy has now awarded a contract to Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Ltd for work on its Collie project. The contractor will install and commission about 640 battery container units, 160 inverters and 220km of high-voltage cabling, as well as managing a laydown facility at the Port of Bunbury.
In addition, Neoen will build a second battery (300MW) before the end of 2025 and Alinta Energy is building a 100MW battery at its existing Wagerup Power Station. Alinta has also lodged a proposal with the state government to build a second, 300MW battery at Wagerup.
These batteries will have a combined 4,640MWh capacity and will be constructed in Collie to take advantage of the SWIS.
Further ambitions could see Neoen creating even greater capacity at Collie, having obtained development approval to build a battery with up to 1 gigawatt of capacity.
The region has the opportunity to leverage the South West’s competitive advantages in the creative industries sector and explore further innovation and technology development through the WA Creative Technology Innovation Hub (WACTIH) which is being delivered through ECU South West.
Headquartered in Bunbury (B-Lab), the WA Creative Tech Village, WACTIH operates across the state as a distributed connector network, building local, national and international industry partnerships to deliver stakeholder-driven programs and explore cutting-edge creative technology development.
Founded in 2023, WACTIH’s first international initiative is the Creative Tech Exchange, an agreement with Singhasari SEZ from Indonesia. The Creative Tech Exchange is also working to develop new partnerships with creative, tech and innovation collaborators from Singapore and beyond.
Closer to home, WACTIH works with the local high schools to deliver the Innovation Academy, empowering students and embedding innovation in the regional psyche.
To further progress the creative sector, there are opportunities in the Busselton Business Fibre Zone to create a creative industries centre at scale and on a fully commercial footing based on a model comprising shared resources, tenants with established businesses and the inclusion of an incubator component to transition start up innovators into commercial operations.
Common-user facilities – particularly where tech and equipment is capitally intensive – makes a great deal of sense in raising the commercial bar, industry capability and the facilitation of growth in the industry.
The space itself should be built with large areas for usage as a photographic or video studio, sound stage or green screen/ motion capture and recording/editing facilities for tenants and visiting productions. Co-working spaces add to the commercial arm of the project and generate other prospects.
It is expected that some existing studios and offices would be attracted to a dedicated space. This would underpin greater industry collaboration while tenant rents provide an income stream to maintain the facility and its equipment. Established creatives could additionally be integrated into the incubator program, mentoring and providing advice.
With a targeted Busselton location, the proposed facility could generate genuine critical mass by integrating with nearby convention centre activities, gallery, CinéfestOZ program and events.