Federal and Western Australian Governments have signed a Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement as the first Capacity Investment Scheme tender in WA opens.
The renewables agreement aims to dismantle obstacles faced by developers, communities, and governments in delivering renewable energy projects. It aligns with the Albanese Government’s ambitious plan to add 32 gigawatts of renewable generation and storage across Australia by 2030.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said this marks an important day for Western Australia and the state-federal government partnership that’s “delivering certainty and progress, and cheap, clean reliable energy to the market and to households”.
“Through our Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement we’re collaborating to lower the remaining obstacles to delivery of energy infrastructure, and ensuring progress continues seamlessly across jurisdictions,” Bowen said.
“The Albanese Government’s Reliable Renewables Plan is the only plan backed by experts to deliver the cheap, reliable and resilient energy system that families and businesses deserve. This is in sharp contrast to Peter Dutton’s anti-renewables nuclear fantasy which remains uncosted and unexplained.”
Under the new renewables agreement, the federal government will underwrite projects to generate a minimum of 6.5 terawatt hours of wind and solar energy in Western Australia. Additionally, it will support the development of 1.1 gigawatts of new storage capacity to ensure grid stability, enhancing both energy reliability and affordability during peak periods.
According to Cook Government, this initiative complements is commitment to phase out state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030, transitioning to renewable electricity generation and storage. The goal is to maintain energy reliability through the Reserve Capacity Mechanism.
Beyond infrastructure, the agreement includes measures to enhance community engagement and improve social and economic outcomes.
The Cook Government said this agreement involves increasing First Nations participation, advancing skills and workforce development, and strengthening renewable energy supply chains.
The first CIS tender for Western Australia targets 2000 megawatt hours of dispatchable capacity in the state’s Wholesale Electricity Market—enough to power 450,000 homes.
This follows the success of the first national CIS tender, which saw over 25 gigawatts of bids for a 6-gigawatt tender.
Registrations and tender guidelines are available through the AEMO Services website.
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