Renewable Energy

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Wind turbine located on Rottnest Island, off Perth in Western Australia

Renewable energy is the term used to describe any source of energy that can be used without depleting its reserves. Western Australia is generously endowed with renewable energy resources - sunshine and wind are plentiful and there are a number of locations throughout the State where hydro, tidal and biomass energy resources are potentially available. To find out more about existing renewable electricity generation in Western Australia, see the renewable energy fact sheet (PDF 236 KB).

The technology to utilise many renewable energy resources is now well developed. However capital costs, although significantly reduced over the last decade, are generally still high, making competition with fossil fuels difficult. Due to the size of WA there are a number of remote locations where the use of fossil fuels is expensive and renewable energy is commercially competitive. There are also increasing opportunities for renewable energy based electricity generation to be installed on the main grid in WA, for example from wind and landfill gas sources.

There is a wide range of both large and small applications of renewable energy in WA. Further information on these applications is available through this website.

Increasing the Utilisation of Renewable Energy

The use of renewable energy within WA is growing in significance due to a number of reasons, but mainly in response to concerns about greenhouse gas emissions.

The Commonwealth Government's mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) places a legal liability on wholesale purchasers of electricity to proportionately contribute towards the generation of an additional 9,500 GWh of renewable energy per year by 2010. Renewable energy certificates are being used to demonstrate compliance with the MRET and can be acquired through contracts with renewable energy generators or by trading them at a price negotiated with individual parties. Further information on the MRET and renewable energy certificates is available from the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator.

National concern over greenhouse gas emissions has also resulted in increased State and Commonwealth Government funding for smaller scale renewable energy projects. This funding will help to increase the number of niche applications for renewable energy technologies, particularly where the costs of using fossil fuels or extending Western Power's electricity grid are high. The Sustainable Energy Development Office Funding and Grants provides further information on the range of financial assistance programs available in WA.