Consultation welcome but will mean more when the WA plan for power finally arrives

The Shadow Minister for Energy Dr Steve Thomas says that the State Labor Government’s latest consultation process for the planning and approvals of renewable energy projects is a welcome though long overdue step in explaining how they intend to manage how people and communities will be impacted by these projects.

 “Many regional communities are very interested in how the rules around renewable projects will affect them, so they will welcome today’s announcement of the opening of consultation on what guidelines new renewable energy projects will need to meet to gain approvals” Dr Thomas said.

“Sadly though, this announcement is yet another example of how far behind the Cook Government is in this process.

“This consultation process will run until April next year, so by the time the submissions are assessed and new guidelines are approved the Government will have wasted another year.

“I expect this process to be further delayed by the Government’s failure to deliver the overarching Whole of System Plan for our energy system, which has been delayed by years until late 2027.

“The result of the Government bumbling around in the dark on energy policy is that neither renewable energy proponents nor the community they seek to supply know where the Government wants generation to occur or how much the state needs to provide.

“The lethargic effort of the Government to get regulations in place is serving neither the renewables industry nor nervous communities well.

 “We are supposed to be half way through the Labor energy transition process already and the Government is just starting to consult on how new generation capacity gets connected.

“It is already too late to deliver the Labor Government’s current transition plan on time by the end of 2029.

“By the time the Government finally works out where it wants to go with this transition and how to get there, it will probably be too late to deliver it by 2035.

“Given the glacial pace of the Government’s transition, it is no surprise that almost nobody in the energy sector believes the Government can deliver its energy transition plan on the current timeframe, and I fully expect an extension in the life of coal generation and additional gas generation as a result.

“Otherwise, we can all expect to be fumbling about in the dark during Christmases to come.”