The government of Western Australia has launched new strategy to respond to the changing energy sector.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston announced Western Australian Energy Transformation Strategy that will deliver cleaner, affordable and more reliable energy to households and businesses for decades to come.
“Technological change in the energy sector is happening at a rapid pace worldwide.
“In Western Australia, we’re blessed with world-class solar and wind resources, abundant gas supply, a wealth of battery metals, and a highly skilled workforce,” he said.
“We have a genuine opportunity to lead the way in establishing a cleaner, brighter and more resilient energy supply for decades to come.
“It’s clear that the generation mix will continue to change, so it’s important we have a whole of system approach to plan for the future,” said Johnston.
The electricity sector is experiencing a major transformation because of the rapid uptake of rooftop solar panels and battery storage systems, and increasing levels of large-scale renewable generators, such as wind and solar farms.
To maximise the environmental benefits and minimise the costs of this transition, the government will develop a plan that will detail how the more co-ordinated power system of the future may look.
The Whole of System Plan will be complemented by a Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Roadmap, which will guide the integration of onsite generation (solar panels), battery storage and future technologies such as electric vehicles.
The DER Roadmap will be produced by the end of 2019 and the first Whole of System Plan in mid-2020.
These initiatives will be developed alongside changes to modernise the Wholesale Electricity Market to enhance power system security and improvements to enable new, largely renewable generators to access Western Power’s network.