Collie in WA's South West with two mines and three power stations is dependent on coal production that will decline with the rise of cleaner renewable energy.
WA energy policy in Labor's second term may have to tackle tough issues avoided so far, including tariffs, Collie's future, the role of gas, and a path to net-zero by 2050.
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
Rooftop solar will make South-West WA power greener, but there is no path outlined for Collie's future or to net-zero by 2050, according to a WA Government study.
WA will be coal-powered for sometime and Synergy is working to ensure its Collie power stations can cope with the new world of intermittent renewable energy.
As wind and solar displaces coal the South West of WA will have ample generation, according to a 10-year look ahead, with the growth of electric vehicles being the big unknown.
The WA Government expects no new coal or gas-fired power generation in the South-West will ever be built but those looking for clues to the future of Collie’s existing coal-fired power stations will have to wait for a plan to be released later this year.
