Canadian firm Vermilion judged the chance of the December spill as "rare" - the same probability it claims for seven planned exploration wells that could affect anywhere along the Pilbara coast.
Chief executive Bill Oplinger told Wall Street the miner had responded to all 60,000 comments on its WA expansion plans—in fact, it responded to fewer than 10, and some were unacceptable.
The WA government will soon decide whether Black Mountain Energy can frack 20 wells near the Kimberley's Fitzroy River, but promised measures to protect the environment and the rights of local people are not yet in place.
Coal is produced in WA in just two mines near Collie, operated by Griffin Coal and Premier Coal.
Almost all of it is used to generate electricity in three power stations in Collie.
State-owned Synergy plans to shut its two coal-fired power stations by 2029.
South West WA's power grid reached a record 91 per cent peak renewable energy share in December - driven by 1,225 MW of new battery storage - while wholesale power prices fell 13 per cent and carbon emissions dropped 15 per cent as coal and gas generation declined.
The operator of South West WA's power grid needs insolvent Griffin Coal to keep supplying a vital power station, but if the WA Government won't keep it going, who will?
WA energy minister Bill Johnston sees no current alternative to gas for dispatchable power and wants to use low prices to lure more gas-hungry investments to WA
The WA energy trilemma: Labor is ready to go but don’t mention coal, Liberals want to drop coal but are light on detail, the Greens want to dump gas as well, and they all love green hydrogen.
The Liberals know where to take WA energy but probably not how to do it. Labor is on top of the detail but shy of facing the inevitable. So close to a bipartisan approach, will our political class blow it?
Sumitomo has completely written off the debt-laden Bluewaters coal-fired power station in Collie after paying $600 million for it less than a decade ago
Two new wind farms and surging rooftop solar installation has pushed renewable energy to 35% of South West WA's power in October, mainly at the expense of coal.
South Korea, Japan and China's tightened climate goals will crunch Australian thermal coal, make LNG investments harder and possibly kill Santos' Barossa LNG project.
