WA’s quick gas grab could face long lead time as ‘supply chain constraints’ threaten State’s energy switch

A global dash for gas plant turbines and renewable energy infrastructure is piling extra pressure on the State Government’s self-imposed timeline to quit coal, with the Premier conceding supply issues will hinder WA’s energy switch. The State Government had little more to say following a report in The Sunday Times last week that Synergy was quietly putting together a business case for building its own new gas-fired power station in WA. Purchasing gas from electricity generated by a gas-fired power station from a private operator is also reported to be on the table. The grab for gas comes as the State Government races to shore up renewable energy and storage projects before WA’s coal-fired power stations are gradually retired over the next four years. Experts have long-warned the target would be a challenge to meet. Speaking at the Energy Exchange Australia conference on Tuesday, Premier Roger Cook made his own acknowledgement that the shift would be difficult due to supply chain pressures. “The opportunities are immense. But the challenges to the energy transition are also significant,” he said. “We understand the supply chain constraints in a world where almost every country wants to wants more solar panels, wind turbines, gas turbines, electrolysers, transmission lines and large scale batteries, and the potential for these supply chain constraints to slow progress.” Asked whether a new gas plant could even be finished by the time coal-fired power stations are phased out in 2030, Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson reinforced the Government’s long-held mantra that gas is “the enabler for the energy transition”. “We are exiting them by 2030 in a sensible, staged approach to make sure we’ve got enough renewables on the system backed by gas,” the Minister said. Industry expert Richard Harris doesn’t view the gas grab as a step backwards for WA’s renewables push and said it was “better late than never”. But he said planning should have started earlier to avoid procurement challenges. Securing gas turbines can take up to three years, according to recent Financial Times report. “The problem is there are only a number of firms around the world who build these things,” Mr Harris told The West Australian. “Europe and America are the main suppliers, and everybody wants one at the moment because the whole world is doing the same thing, which is effectively moving away from coal-fired power stations to renewables.” He said the State Government would be pushing up against its coal exit target by trying to have a 300MW power station ready for 2030. Opposition energy spokesman Steve Thomas was of the view such a project is better left in the hands of the private sector. “There are private sector generators, or private sector generation companies, who have the capacity to put turbines in much faster,” he said. “And I would urge the Government to look at using the private sector to provide the additional 300 megawatts of or so of gas that they’re talking about.”