An ambitious document published by the WA Greens Party has outlined pathways for the state to be powered by 100% renewable energy in less than two decades.
The plan offers two possible scenarios; the first involves the deployment of concentrated solar power and storage technologies, and the second involves currently cheaper technologies such as wind and solar PV. Both plans would also utilise biomass and hydro.
The proposals outlined are expected to cost between $57-$62 billion. The study concludes that the levellised cost of electricity will not be much more expensive in the renewable scenarios, ranging from $208/MWh to $221/MWh, compared to an estimate of $203/MWh without implementation.
On launch WA Greens’ Senator Scott Ludlam said the proposal will not cost any more than what was proposed by the Liberal-National Government.
“The state government is actually proposing to spend a quarter of a billion dollars refurbishing the obsolete Muja coal-fired power station and that for me is all you need to know about how wrong this government’s priorities are,” “For that amount of money you can actually start buying serious renewable energy.” said Mr Ludlam.
Western Australia is considered one of the best places for renewable energy, particularly because of solar resources. WA would be the third place in the world to use solar energy stored using large scale concentrator field technology if the plan goes ahead.
