Energy minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has defended subsidies for Griffin Coal, after the state hit a renewable energy record in the wholesale market.
Energy minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has defended subsidies for Griffin Coal, after the state hit a renewable energy record in the wholesale market.
The independent Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released its quarterly report today, showing a 52.4 per cent average renewable contribution to the state’s Wholesale Electricity Market over the three months to December 31.
The figure was higher than the 51 per cent recorded on the east coast.
It was punctuated by a 5.8 per cent decline in coal energy contributions and a 16.4 per cent gas contribution reduction.
Wholesale energy prices fell 13 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2024, to $69.55 per megawatt hour.
Ms Sanderson said the results showed the state’s multi-billion-dollar rollout of large-scale batteries to support renewable projects was working.
“We won the quarter, and there’s still more work to do across the transition – there’s no question,” she said.
“What we’ve seen this quarter is showing that renewable energy is more than 50 per cent of our overall mix, that we’re using less coal and gas, and that wholesale prices – the prices industry pays for energy – are coming down significantly.”
But opposition energy spokesperson Steve Thomas said WA households were responsible for the uptick.
“It is amusing to watch the government claim credit for the increase in renewable generation into the grid when that increase is almost entirely due to more rooftop solar panels being installed on the houses of private Western Australians and almost none of the increase is coming from state Labor government generators,” he said.
“WA has moved from an average of 40 per cent of our energy coming from renewables to 50 per cent thanks to the thousands of families putting solar panels on their roofs.”
Ms Sanderson said heavy government subsidies already in place meant it was unlikely the energy savings would be passed on to households, but that businesses stood to benefit.
She said coal was unreliable and expensive but insisted the government’s recent decision to continue to subsidise the future of the Griffin coal mine at Collie was the right call to support the private Bluewaters power station and industrial users.
“The Griffin decision was essential because Bluewaters, the privately-owned coal-fired power station, was certified by AEMO to operate into 2027-28, and therefore they will need coal supply,” Ms Sanderson said.
The cost to government of continued subsidies for Griffin is as-yet unknown.
The minister denied the state was being “taken for a ride” by the investors behind the Bluewaters power plant but acknowledged the foreign ownership structures of both Griffin and Bluewaters were “challenging”.
She insisted the state would not invest any more capital in coal-fired energy generation, a move which would follow the controversial lead of the Queensland Liberal government.
“Coal has been the backbone of our economy for decades,” Ms Sanderson said.
“It has served us well, and it has been the bedrock of much of our prosperity and economic success – particularly in the South West Interconnected System.
“But the reality is these assets are end of life, they are becoming more unreliable and expensive to run and there are cheaper and cleaner alternatives.
“Those are the alternatives the state government is investing in.”
Mr Thomas said the state would still have issues supplying power at times of peak demand without coal.
“Our peak of demand in the South West Interconnected System occurs in summer at around 6pm when those rooftop panels are not producing, and the state will be relying on batteries, coal and gas to supply the power to keep air conditioners running,” he said.
