Western Australia’s government has announced an ambitious plan to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2030, positioning onshore wind energy as a cornerstone of the state’s future electricity mix. Developers’ caution against not being able to meet this deadline is high, given the time it will take to upgrade infrastructure and the length of projects.
In the most recent budget, returned Cook government committed $584.3 million to improve the network. They further set aside funds for the Clean Energy Link to be expanded. Despite this support, concerns linger regarding the feasibility of executing large-scale wind projects in time for the transition away from coal.
Project Timelines and Expectations
Project director for the Marradong Wind Farm project, Daniel Kurz, noted that it was complicated enough just to build a wind farm. He noted the process is long and complicated. As he put it, “It’s not a sprint, so a development process for a wind farm is certainly a marathon, for sure.” The Marradong Wind Farm, in Boddington, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Perth, will include 45 turbines for a total capacity of 300 megawatts.
Greg Wilkinson, a key figure behind the Marradong project, said construction would begin before 2028. He’s looking for full operations to begin before the end of 2031. This troubling timeline gives us pause. Does this really square with the state’s professed intention to eliminate all coal power within ten years?
Chris Kearney, a second industry expert, sounded doubtful over the 2030 deadline. He noted, “If we don’t hit our targets for getting this project online, and likewise if Western Power don’t have the infrastructure to connect these projects, then the reality is coal-fired power plants may have to stay online a few years longer than planned.”
Infrastructure Challenges Ahead
The push for a renewable energy transition in Western Australia rests on significant infrastructure investment. The state government will have to build at least 250 kilometers of new high-voltage transmission lines just to accommodate the wind projects in the pipeline. Chris O’Keefe, an energy stakeholder, made clear just how urgent these changes are. He continued, “They really do have to get on to do that if that 2030 target is going to be achieved.”
Chris Kearney, who sounded this alarm. He explained that if developers do not have their projects up and running in time, coal will remain a bigger part of the energy mix a lot longer than anticipated. He stated, “We might have a situation where we’re generating two or three gigawatts of onshore wind, yet there’s not enough transmission to get it to the places where it needs to get to.”
Not only was Amber-Jade Sanderson, Australia’s Minister for Energy, passionately reiterating the government’s commitment for onshore wind. She painted a picture of its increasing importance as a linchpin in the energy transition. She added that the state has no intention of relying on offshore wind projects to meet its goals. We believe in a pragmatic balance of renewables and largescale battery storage. Supply issues aside, we’ll need gas to be a flexible reliability fuel for the fossil fuel phase down from coal. About the host she continued.
Future Prospects for Wind Energy
The government’s strategy includes various planned wind farms across southern Western Australia in areas like West Arthur, Narrogin, Williams, and Scott River. One of the most exciting projects of these is a proposed 1,200 megawatt wind farm by RES Australia. Over 110 turbines, it will significantly more than double the Marradong project’s output. This ambitious plan relies on getting existing transmission infrastructure upgraded on a tight timeline.
While acknowledging unavoidable delays and unknowns, Sanderson is still hopeful that the 2030 goal will be achieved. And she boldly declared, “We know that we can achieve this 2030 time frame. We will protect the reliability and security of our energy system.”
While Congress, advocates, and others fight to lay this groundwork, industry insiders are warning not to get too much in a rush. Kearney pointed out the need for intentionality in that process. He’d like to make sure we don’t just leave coal behind without a better plan and without energy reliability. As he put it, “We all want to electrify and decarbonise, but nobody wants blackouts.”
