With coal's demise in WA set, can renewables step up to fill the gap?
Western Australia is falling well short of renewable energy generation requirements and lagging the rest of the country in terms of new projects in the pipeline, according to a new report.
Common Capital's States of Transition report, released Monday, found renewable generation in WA only provided 25 per cent of the state's electricity needs and projects currently in the pipeline would only increase it to 32 per cent by 2050.
The report, commissioned by a coalition of conservation councils around the country, said the country needed to build renewable energy projects at least 4.5 times faster than the current rate.
'Based on current deployment rates of large scale generation and rooftop PV, Western Australia is falling behind other jurisdictions and is likely to fall far short of future renewable generation requirements,' it said.
The report also found 99 per cent of the 43.5 terawatt hours of renewable energy publicly announced had not gone much further than that, and said WA's lack of legislated renewable energy targets were hampering investment.
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'This suggests that to date there has been less interest from renewable developers and investors in pursuing projects in Western Australia,' it said.
'Some of the initiatives implemented in other jurisdictions, e.g., legislated renewable energy targets, planning system reforms ... could help to increase investor confidence and develop the renewable energy pipeline.'
The report came out the day before the Australian Energy Market Operator launched its latest assessment of the WA's electricity generation needs over the coming decade.
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Western Australia is falling well short of renewable energy generation requirements and lagging the rest of the country in terms of new projects in the pipeline, according to a new report. Common Capital's States of Transition report, released Monday, found renewable generation in WA only provided 25 per cent of the state's electricity needs and projects currently in the pipeline would only increase it to 32 per cent by 2050. The report, commissioned by a coalition of conservation councils around the country, said the country needed to build renewable energy projects at least 4.5 times faster than the current rate. 'Based on current deployment rates of large scale generation and rooftop PV, Western Australia is falling behind other jurisdictions and is likely to fall far short of future renewable generation requirements,' it said. The report also found 99 per cent of the 43.5 terawatt hours of renewable energy publicly announced had not gone much further than that, and said WA's lack of legislated renewable energy targets were hampering investment. Loading 'This suggests that to date there has been less interest from renewable developers and investors in pursuing projects in Western Australia,' it said. 'Some of the initiatives implemented in other jurisdictions, e.g., legislated renewable energy targets, planning system reforms ... could help to increase investor confidence and develop the renewable energy pipeline.' The report came out the day before the Australian Energy Market Operator launched its latest assessment of the WA's electricity generation needs over the coming decade.
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