Question regarding the reliability of power supply after the closure of Collie power stations. Minister responds by outlining investments in KBESS and CBESS, claiming they provide sufficient instantaneous energy capacity and criticises the questioner's understanding.

AnsweredQoN 523Legislative Assembly
Asked
16 August 2023
Portfolio
Energy

QuestionView source ↗

ENERGY — SUPPLY
523. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I have a supplementary question.
When will the minister reveal the detailed plan to demonstrate that we can have
a reliable power supply with the Collie power stations closed?

AnswerView source ↗

The member must not read the budget
papers.
Dr D.J. Honey : That is not a plan.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : I do not
understand. This shows the depth of the ignorance of the member for Cottesloe.
No wonder he was dumped as shadow Minister for Energy! The Australian Energy
Market Operator operates the electricity system in the south west
interconnected system. What we are doing in our investments is replacing the
coal-fired power stations in Collie, and we have a detailed plan. It is not
some future plan; it is currently being implemented.
Let us understand that KBESS 1 and 2 and CBESS will provide 800 megawatts of
instantaneous energy capacity. That is more than is currently available
in the coal-fired power stations.
Dr D.J. Honey : For a couple
of hours. Where is your modelling? Where is it?
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : As I keep
saying to the member, it is just mind-blowing how little he understands about
the electricity system. It will have 800-megawatt capacity. I am not talking
about its storage capacity; I am talking about its instantaneous capacity to
discharge electricity. That means it will have more capacity to put electricity
into the system than the coal-fired power stations combined. Remember, peak
time is only a few hours. That is why the
Australian Energy Market Operator has not asked for long-term energy storage.
When the Australian Energy Market Operator recommends—it is the
one that makes those decisions—that we need long-term storage, it will go to market and ask for it. At the moment, it is
asking for what is called four-hour storage, and that is exactly what the
private sector and the public sector are providing. As I keep saying, we are
replacing the capacity of the coal-fired power stations. We are going
from systems that need 24 hours, 48 hours or three-days' notice to come
online to systems that are instantaneously
available. It is because the system is based on renewable energy. We are going
from one-third renewable to two-thirds renewable within seven years.
This is a great celebration. People come from around the world to see how we
are managing this transition because we are ahead of the transition in the rest
of the world. I understand that the member is stuck in the past, but that is no
excuse for ignorance.

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