How switching out fossil gas for renewables could save this town $321 million

A detailed new study has found that the Western Australia beach resort town of Broome could be powered by 80% renewable energy at three-quarters of the cost of its current gas-fired electricity supply, amounting to total lifetime savings of $321 million.

Broome is a coastal hub in the remote, tropical Kimberley region, with a permanent population of around 14,500, though that number soars in the dry tourist season, from May through to October.

According to the report by Sustainable Energy Now (SEN), Broome’s current electricity supply comes from gas generators that are fuelled by LNG delivered by road train from Karratha, at a price of $22/GJ.

In a zero renewables scenario, gas is required to generate 131GWh of electricity, which corresponds to 21.1 thousand tonnes of LNG, or more than seven roadtrain deliveries a week.

The current contract to supply Broome with power ends in 2027, which means the WA state government will have to decide how to replace the system in a way that aligns with its climate targets.

With the Labor McGowan government committing to reducing its own emissions by 80% by 2030, SEN decided to chart the feasibility of such a shift in Broome by modelling future costs across a whole range of electricity generation mixes.

The study, which builds on the existing Kimberley Clean Energy Roadmap (KCER), calculates that the current LNG-only electricity generated to supply Broome has an estimated levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of $293/MWh.

This cost could be pushed down significantly, however to $215/MWh, using a combination of 60MW of solar – both utility-scale and rooftop – combined with 40MW/160MWh battery storage, backed up by the existing 30MW of gas (LNG) generation.

“The lowest cost scenario is with 60MW PV, achieving an LCOE of $215/MWh, $78/MWh less than the gas-only
scenario,” the report says.

“This scenario meets 82% of load with 160MWh of 4 hour battery storage. In this scenario, surplus energy remains relatively low.”

The report further finds that increasing solar to 80MW would generate 52GWh a year of intermittent, surplus energy with only a marginal increase in the LCOE, though mostly in the dry season. This study says that this surplus power could be used in “innovative applications” that could further reduce the LCOE.

In terms of the gas supply, the above scenario would mean an average of only 18% of generation would come from the fossil fuel, which equates to an average of just over 10 tonnes of LNG per day, or 1.32 shipments a week – a significant daily reduction of 47.4 tonnes.

And this equates to a huge cost saving, too.

The total lifetime cost of the proposed renewables solution is estimated at $707 million with new gas generation and $636 million with a gas plant refurbishment.

This compares to the total lifetime cost of the 100% gas option with new generators, at $957 million.

“If refurbished generators are used, the lifetime savings of the RE scenario are estimated to be $321 million,” the report says.

“In other words, lifetime costs of the LNG-only scenario are 50% more than the RE scenario.”

“There is an excellent opportunity to move from mostly gas to predominantly renewable energy generation at the conclusion of the existing LNG generation contract in 2027,” says Martin Pritchard, a spokesperson for Environs Kimberley which co-sponsored the report.

“This will be achieved by a mix of rooftop PV and solar farms, with substantial battery storage.”

Dr Rob Phillips, from SEN, says the plan would enable any landowner in Broome to install solar on their own rooftop.

“High penetration of renewables with batteries in the Kimberley will drastically reduce the amount of fuel required for generation, increasing resilience in flood events,” Phillips says.

“Broome has the potential to become a leader in renewable energy, and this study shows that the transition to a clean energy future is not only feasible but also cheaper,” adds Pritchard.