The Western Australian Government will engage with peak industry bodies to assess how the state can position its economy to become a global clean energy powerhouse.
The State Government said business leaders who attended the Premier’s Economic Resilience Forum highlighted the delivery of energy infrastructure and energy supply arrangements as central to their investment strategies and competitiveness in a dynamic international trade environment.
In response, the State Government said it will conduct a rapid and intensive industry engagement exercise over the coming months – with support from industry peak bodies – to inform government decision making regarding transmission infrastructure and energy policy settings.
The State Government said the exercise will combine the latest intelligence from key economic sectors, with work by the new Department of Energy and Economic Diversification (DEED) to finalise plans for the next phase of energy grid infrastructure and to review the effectiveness of our energy market.
The confidential process is expected to enable government to test its analysis, seek robust feedback and develop a better understanding of how key decisions will affect Western Australia’s future investment pipeline.
According to the State Government, the process will feed into major decisions to be announced in 2025, including the transmission investment plan for the South West Interconnected System.
Western Australian Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation, Amber-Jade Sanderson, said, “This work reflects the State Government’s focus on making more things in Western Australia and diversifying our economy through access to secure, competitively priced clean energy.
“I look forward to working closely with industry over the coming months to ensure we can create the right policy settings around energy infrastructure, market rules and the role played by our state-owned energy utilities.”
