Woodside sold the project to an insubstantial company to avoid a few hundred million in decommissioning costs: now it and its competitors will pay the price.
WA Premier Mark McGowan warned Alcoa to lift its game or face curtailed mining, but his successor Roger Cook slashed water supply protections after a possibly empty threat from the US miner.
In WA Alinta Energy retails gas, owns two cogeneration power plants near Alcoa's Pinjarra and Wagerup alumina refineries, and a major share of the Yandin wind farm north of Perth. It is owned by Hong Kong's billionaire Cheng family.
WA's iron ore miners must develop wind power and drop decades of rivalry to share transmission networks to meet their emissions reduction targets, according to Alinta Energy.
South West WA's power system may get two $100M big batteries to help handle rooftop solar growth with Alinta planning an investment at its Wagerup power station.
WA's industrial greenhouse gas emissions are dominated by four products and a handful of companies, including a few that have managed to keep a low profile in the climate wars.
