“Massive step:” State inks deals to deliver more than 1 GW of new wind power ahead of mass coal exodus

The Western Australia Labor government has locked in delivery of more than a gigawatt of new wind generation capacity for the state, signing contracts to buy power from three projects that, once completed, will generate more power than the state’s remaining coal power plants.

The WA government announced on Sunday that state-owned gentailer Synergy has signed two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) – one with the 130 megawatt (MW) Kondinin Wind Farm being jointly developed by Shell Energy and Foresight Group, and one with the 470 MW Parron Maam Marang Farm project, owned and operated by Zephyr Energy.

A third deal will see the state’s Water Corporation buy 330 MW of the electricity produced by the Marri Wind Farm, a 550 MW project being developed by Alinta Energy that is expected to begin operations in 2029.

“Together, these agreements will provide more than 1 gigawatt of electricity, exceeding our commitment to deliver 810 megawatts of wind generation to replace the state’s coal fired power fleet,” premier Roger Cook said in a joint statement with the state’s energy and water ministers.

“With WA home to the two largest big batteries in the nation, this large-scale wind investment will help to generate clean, affordable and reliable energy for WA’s future.”

The underwriting of the three new wind projects is, indeed, great news for the Western Australia grid, which has no links to other states and where the last of the state-owned coal generators are expected to retire before the end of the decade, and likely the last privately owned coal fired generator, too.

Last week, the Australian Energy Regulator singled out wind energy and battery storage as two technologies that have been instrumental in helping to drive down wholesale electricity market prices on the nation’s main grid, by balancing out and smoothing solar.

Wind energy has been particularly successful in WA, with a number of projects in the state regularly topping the monthly charts for the best performing wind farms in the country – but much more needs to be built to replace both coal and gas.

Of the two wind projects being contracted by Synergy, Parron Maam appears to be the most advanced in its plans to install up to 79 Vestas turbines around 10 km north-west of Badgingarra, next to the existing Badgingarra Wind Farm and the Western Power Northern Terminal on the state’s main grid.

According to the project website, it has secured all local, state and federal government approvals to go ahead and is due to start earthworks at the site in the first quarter of this year.

The Kondinin wind farm, which plans to install up to 46 wind turbines in two stages in the West Australian wheatbelt, also has received all the necessary local, state and federal approvals, its website says. First stage construction is slated to begin this year.

Sean Kenyon, Shell Energy Australia’s general manager of renewables, said on Monday that the agreement with Synergy underpins the delivery of a project that will play a meaningful role in decarbonising the SWIS – Western Australia’s main grid.

“Huge credit to team Shell and to our JV partner Foresight for their strong partnership and shared commitment to getting this project to the line. Great teamwork delivering real progress!” Kenyon said.

The Marri Wind Farm, which is proposed for construction in the Shire of Dandaragan, around 140 km north of Perth, still in the process of securing approvals and financing.

Alinta’s executive director of merchant energy, Ken Woolley, says the PPA with an essential service provider like the WA Water Corporation is a “significant milestone” for the project, as it works through approvals and towards a final investment decision.

“There is still work to do, including planning, approvals and investment decisions, but this agreement gives the project real momentum,” he said.

“These agreements are a massive step towards delivering the energy transition and establishing WA as a renewable energy powerhouse on a global scale,” said WA energy minister Amber-Jade Sanderson in a statement on Sunday.

“By signing these agreements, we are supporting job-creating renewable energy projects in regional WA that will help us get out of state-owned coal by 2030.

“Through our state-owned utilities, we are driving the transition to a renewable energy system – backed by storage and gas – to provide affordable, reliable, and cleaner power for Western Australians.”

In a LinkedIn post on Monday, Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley said it was “brilliant” to see the WA government “stepping up to enable and crowd-in private capital to regional areas, creating low cost decarbonised Australian energy to build our energy independence.”

“A lot more speed and scale needed, but we are making good progress.”

In December last year, the total share of generation on Western Australia’s main grid – the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) – reached a new high of 88.7 per cent for renewables (including battery storage), with wind and solar at times meeting 100 per cent of demand.

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