Western Australian Energy Minister Peter Collier opened the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia's (SEA) Energising South East Asia 2011 conference by promising sustainability would grow as a priority for the WA Government.

Mr Collier said that providing energy across Australia's largest state posed "special challenges" with some 800,000 power poles existing in the state.

He noted that practical decisions in the here and now needed to be balanced with "generational challenges".

His priority was for a "secure, reliable, competitive and cleaner" future for energy in Western Australia.

Mr Collier said renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives would drive this vision.

He said the state was a "very proud" signatory to the national agreement to achieve a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020.

"Our fundamental goal is to make sure these targets are made from sources in Western Australia," he said.

Mr Collier said that the State Government had been "relatively successful" on the sustainable energy front but conceded in places its response had been "a bit weak".

He said several policy announcements were on the horizon, and recent promotional campaigns aimed at encouraging people to save electricity would be extended.

Delivering a sustainable 21st century

Addressing representatives from the Australian and South East Asian sustainable energy field at the Energising South East Asia Awards dinner, SEA CEO Professor Ray Wills urged industry collaboration and regional cooperation.

“We need global change, we need global action, we also need action in all of our own nations. So united we can actually deliver a changed planet, a better planet, a planet that is a more sustainable 21st century,” he said.

SEA also announced the winners of its Sustainable Energy Industry Excellence and Innovation Awards at the Gala Dinner.

The Award for Excellence and Innovation went to BioTek Fuels Pty Ltd for its innovative plans for its Integrated Renewable Project in Western Australia. The company is focused on integrating biomass power plants with algae production facilities and was also presented with the Developer Award for its ambitious and "highly novel" project.

Environmental scientist, author and educator, and all-round sustainability guru Professor Peter Newman was awarded the inaugural Sustainable Energy Association’s 2011 Hall of Fame Award.

Professor Newman, Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and lead author on the International Panel on Climate Change’s 2014 Transport report was honoured for his long-standing, unique and definitive contribution to the sustainable energy industry, recognised as a leader within his field and an active participant and upstanding citizen of the community.

Throughout the conference, panelists discussed key issues and questions for sustainable energy across the economy including smart cities; the global supply chain; the future energy market; fundamentals of markets and trading; dispatchable energy resources; green washing; and the new networked car.

The conference also featured an Oxford-style debate by the Green Collar Think Tank, tackling the issue: Carbon Pricing vs Direct Action: A carbon tax or Emissions Trading Scheme is the only effective policy to achieve substantial emissions reductions at least-cost to the economy.

Local company Swan Energy, one of Australia’s leading providers of large scale, commercial solar power stations, was the Platinum Sponsor of the event.

Other enterprises are also offering substantial support with City of Perth, Horizon Power, Hyundai Heavy Industries and UNLTD Energy, generously supporting as Gold Sponsors.

Silver Sponsors of the event are Greensense, SMA and SunPower, and Bronze Sponsors are HAC, Landcorp, Sun-Earth, and the Western Australian Government through the Office of Energy.