L-R: Mr Brett Sadler, Taskforce member; Mr Jai Thomas, Program Director; Mr Michael Court, Taskforce member; Mr Stephen Edwell, Independent Chair; the Hon Bill Johnston MLA, Minister for Energy; Ms Kate Ryan, Coordinator of Energy and Taskforce member; and Ms Katharine McKenzie, Taskforce member.
The Energy Transformation Taskforce has successfully completed its two-year tenure. The Taskforce was established on 20 March 2019 to lead the delivery of the McGowan Government's Energy Transformation Strategy and respond to the unprecedented change underway as the Western Australian energy sector transitions to low emissions energy technologies.
This transition presents exciting opportunities for low cost, low emissions energy. However the pace of change also presents serious challenges to our power system.
The Energy Transformation Strategy set out to address these challenges and key milestones of the strategy have now been completed by the Taskforce include:
- The release of a Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap to manage the integration of small-scale distributed energy resources into the power system, with actions through to 2024;
- A Whole of System Plan to provide a view of the likely evolution of the generation mix, network augmentation and storage requirements in the South West Interconnected System over twenty years; and
- Redesign of the Wholesale Electricity Market to improve power system security and efficiency and improve network access for new, largely renewable generators.
The changes to our power systems have accelerated in recent years. Since the Energy Transformation Strategy was launched in early 2019, we have more than doubled the amount of large-scale renewable generation connected to our main grid in the south west and enabled Western Australians to install another 537 MW of rooftop solar panels at their homes and businesses.
The planning and reforms led by the Taskforce have laid the foundations for the ongoing and emerging power system challenges to be managed as our transformation continues.
Energy Policy WA is now well set up to lead the energy transformation by continuing the work already started by the Taskforce as well as focusing on integrating new technologies into the power system and delivering fit-for-purpose licensing; and governance arrangements.
At the event the Minister thanked each of the Taskforce members for their enormous contribution to the success of the strategy, and acknowledged the work of the Energy Transformation Implementation Unit for their dedicated support to the Taskforce and ongoing commitment to energy transformation through their ongoing roles within Energy Policy WA.
