WA budget adds $500 million to energy transition spend

Western Australia’s energy transition is a winner in Western Australia’s 2024-25 State Budget which injects $500 million towards what the government calls a cleaner, affordable and reliable energy future.

The new funding includes a further $324 million investment into the state’s main electricity network to supply power tp enable industry to expand.

The investment will fund Western Power to continue assessing and developing potential Clean Energy Link transmission projects, including the procurement of long-lead items.

Clean Energy Link transmission projects are needed to meet renewable generation demand, expanding the South West Interconnected System in the central, south, and northern sections.

The Cook government also allocated $147.6 million to support the development of common user network infrastructure in the North West Interconnected System and open up new opportunities for clean energy.

Other new investments include:

• $18.4 million for the deployment of 50 Standalone Power Systems in Esperance and the Mid West
• $7.5 million to fund rebuilding the Blackstone remote community’s power station
• And $4.5 million to buy existing power station assets in Ardyaloon, Bidyadanga, Beagle Bay, Djarindjin Lombadina and Warmun.

The additional investments in the 2024-25 Budget bring the total investment by the WA Labor Government into the energy transition to more than $5.4 billion since 2017, including new generation, transmission and storage.

WA Premier Roger Cook: “The energy transition is the biggest economic transformation in decades, and my government is grasping the opportunity with both hands.

“Investing in our electricity grid will unlock major job-creating clean energy projects that will set up our state and our economy for the long term.”

Picture: Roger Cook