❓ The Premier responds to a question about the government's efforts to diversify the WA economy through renewable energy, highlighting solar uptake, battery schemes, and local manufacturing initiatives aimed at lowering energy bills and establishing WA as a renewable energy powerhouse.
AnsweredQoN 634Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
State economy—Diversification—Renewable
energy
634. Mr Frank Paolino to
the Premier:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to diversifying the economy so that Western
Australia remains the strongest economy in the nation. Can the Premier update
the house on the work that this government is doing to become a renewable
energy powerhouse, whilst at the same time helping WA households to lower
energy bills?
energy
634. Mr Frank Paolino to
the Premier:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to diversifying the economy so that Western
Australia remains the strongest economy in the nation. Can the Premier update
the house on the work that this government is doing to become a renewable
energy powerhouse, whilst at the same time helping WA households to lower
energy bills?
AnswerView source ↗
Mr Speaker, I thank
the member for the question because he, like everyone here, knows that Western
Australia is a leader across many fields—it has strongest economy in
the nation and the best lifestyle of any state in Australia and is a place of
abundant opportunity. It also happens to be one of the world's best regions for
solar and wind resources. That is why in 2025, nearly 50% of WA households are
harnessing the power of solar. Sandgropers have backed rooftop solar more than is
the case just about anywhere else on earth, and that incredible uptake of solar
combined with our wind farms helped the South West grid reach a new record of
renewable energy generation earlier this month. It reached an incredible 89% on
3 November.
The next step is
connecting many of those rooftop solar panels to home batteries. As we know,
batteries spread the benefit of the immense energy we receive in WA. They can
store power for when we need it most. It is why we committed to the Residential
Battery Scheme at the last election.
Along with the
Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation and the member for Kingsley, yesterday
I headed to Steve Gilbert's house in Woodvale. Steve is one of around 18,000
people who have applied for the Residential Battery Scheme; in his case, he
also applied for the loan facility. He is one of 4,500 people who now have
batteries installed. That is 4,500 households that now have lower bills, lower
emissions and lower dependency on the grid. As you know, Steve is an incredible
bloke. He is a normal member of the community who made a rational economic
decision about his power bills. He did it for the simple fact that his
investment will pay for itself in around four years. He did it as a form of permanent
cost-of-living relief—and he is not alone, with more households making
this rational decision every day.
Home battery
installations will continue to gather pace as the industry develops and grows. We
yesterday opened our program to accelerate this growth. Local businesses can
now apply for grants under our $50 million Local Battery Manufacturing Program.
It will help them scale up and embed themselves in the battery supply chain,
help Western Australia grow its capability in an industry that is integral to
our future, continue our journey as renewable energy powerhouse and put pride
back in the words "Made in WA".
the member for the question because he, like everyone here, knows that Western
Australia is a leader across many fields—it has strongest economy in
the nation and the best lifestyle of any state in Australia and is a place of
abundant opportunity. It also happens to be one of the world's best regions for
solar and wind resources. That is why in 2025, nearly 50% of WA households are
harnessing the power of solar. Sandgropers have backed rooftop solar more than is
the case just about anywhere else on earth, and that incredible uptake of solar
combined with our wind farms helped the South West grid reach a new record of
renewable energy generation earlier this month. It reached an incredible 89% on
3 November.
The next step is
connecting many of those rooftop solar panels to home batteries. As we know,
batteries spread the benefit of the immense energy we receive in WA. They can
store power for when we need it most. It is why we committed to the Residential
Battery Scheme at the last election.
Along with the
Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation and the member for Kingsley, yesterday
I headed to Steve Gilbert's house in Woodvale. Steve is one of around 18,000
people who have applied for the Residential Battery Scheme; in his case, he
also applied for the loan facility. He is one of 4,500 people who now have
batteries installed. That is 4,500 households that now have lower bills, lower
emissions and lower dependency on the grid. As you know, Steve is an incredible
bloke. He is a normal member of the community who made a rational economic
decision about his power bills. He did it for the simple fact that his
investment will pay for itself in around four years. He did it as a form of permanent
cost-of-living relief—and he is not alone, with more households making
this rational decision every day.
Home battery
installations will continue to gather pace as the industry develops and grows. We
yesterday opened our program to accelerate this growth. Local businesses can
now apply for grants under our $50 million Local Battery Manufacturing Program.
It will help them scale up and embed themselves in the battery supply chain,
help Western Australia grow its capability in an industry that is integral to
our future, continue our journey as renewable energy powerhouse and put pride
back in the words "Made in WA".
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