Western Australia sets 75% renewable power goal for southwest grid by 2030/31

Western Australia’s Labor government has set an ambitious renewable energy target, aiming for 75% of the electricity supplied to the southwest grid to be generated from renewable sources by the 2030/31 fiscal year. Premier Roger Cook presented the "affordable energy" plan as a means to prevent an estimated 89% increase in business electricity costs by 2032 and to stimulate job creation through economic diversification.

The proposal includes expanded incentives for households to adopt solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicles, while continuing support for the state’s domestic gas reservation policy and gas production. Currently, about 40% of power on the South West Interconnected System comes from renewables, with coal and gas supplying the remainder; the government also intends to retire all state-owned coal plants by 2030.

Opposition energy spokesman Steve Thomas labeled the plan a delayed acknowledgment of policy failure, and Greens MP Brad Pettitt said WA was the last state to set a renewable target. The announcement coincides with the EPA’s draft for a new gas-fired power station at Keralup and a leaked warning to Woodside about potential environmental impacts from its Browse gas project.