❓ WA Parliament Question on Notice regarding wind turbine operations, electricity generation, emissions reductions, Collie Power Station replacement, and blackout procedures in the SWIS. The response provides data and outlines responsibilities during blackouts.
AnsweredQoN 2221Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to wind turbines operating in Western Australia (WA), and I ask: (a) how many wind turbines are there currently in WA; (b) how many of (a) are currently operating; (c) what is the collective total nameplate capacity of the wind turbines in (a); (d) what is the collective total electricity generation of the turbines in (a) during the past year; (e) what is the claimed level of emissions reductions within the electricity grid (South West Interconnected System (SWIS) only); (f) what is the plan to replace the Collie Power station; (g) in the event of a state-wide black out, who is responsible for bringing the SWIS back online and what is the procedure; (h) in the procedure from (g), what suburbs come on and what suburbs stay off; (i) are the essential services protected from black outs; and (j) how much diesel should be kept on hand to keep essential services operating in a black out?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
27 November 2024
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Energy
Response time
11 days
a) It is estimated that there are 518 wind turbines in Western Australia (WA).
b) The turbines listed in (a) are all currently operational.
c) The collective total nameplate capacity of wind turbines in WA is approximately 1,160 megawatts (MW).
d) The SWIS wind facilities generated 3,542 gigawatt hours of electricity in the SWIS in 2023-24 (generation data for non-SWIS wind generators is not publicly available).
e) Estimated emissions from electricity generation in the SWIS have reduced from 12.4 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) to 9.3 Mt CO2-e in the past five years for which data is available (2017-18 to 2022-23). Underlying electricity demand has also grown during this period.
f) In June 2022, the State Government announced the scheduled staged retirement of Synergy s coal generation fleet, including the Collie Power Station. The State Government is planning to replace retiring generation facilities by making investments in renewable energy and storage projects. Private investment in new generation and storage projects is also supporting the replacement of coal assets as demand for electricity grows. Western Power is upgrading transmission lines through the Clean Ener y Link - North project which will unlock 400MW of existing wind capacity that is currently constrained, and will enable the connection of up to 1 gigawatt of wind.
g) In the event of a system black event, the Coordinator of Energy is the designated Hazard Management Agency in the State of Western Australia for energy supply disruptions for electricity, gas and liquid fuels. In such an event for the SWIS, AEMO as the system operator is responsible for system restart under the Wholesale Electricity Market Rules and will do so with assistance from Western Power as the network operator. The process is highly technical and involves utilising generation assets with black start capability to energise a stable load. Once this is achieved, the remainder of the network is progressively re-energised.
h) Re-energisation is highly dependent on the cause and location of the system black event and the status of the network and generation infrastructure.
i) A system black by its definition means all customers connected to a given electricity network will experience loss of supply. Essential service providers and facilities should have backup generation to allow them to continue to operate, and this is a matter for each individual service's business continuity arrangements.
j) The volume of diesel kept on hand by essential services should provide a sufficient contingency under their business continuity plans based on individual circumstances, risk assessments, and relevant regulatory obligations.
b) The turbines listed in (a) are all currently operational.
c) The collective total nameplate capacity of wind turbines in WA is approximately 1,160 megawatts (MW).
d) The SWIS wind facilities generated 3,542 gigawatt hours of electricity in the SWIS in 2023-24 (generation data for non-SWIS wind generators is not publicly available).
e) Estimated emissions from electricity generation in the SWIS have reduced from 12.4 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) to 9.3 Mt CO2-e in the past five years for which data is available (2017-18 to 2022-23). Underlying electricity demand has also grown during this period.
f) In June 2022, the State Government announced the scheduled staged retirement of Synergy s coal generation fleet, including the Collie Power Station. The State Government is planning to replace retiring generation facilities by making investments in renewable energy and storage projects. Private investment in new generation and storage projects is also supporting the replacement of coal assets as demand for electricity grows. Western Power is upgrading transmission lines through the Clean Ener y Link - North project which will unlock 400MW of existing wind capacity that is currently constrained, and will enable the connection of up to 1 gigawatt of wind.
g) In the event of a system black event, the Coordinator of Energy is the designated Hazard Management Agency in the State of Western Australia for energy supply disruptions for electricity, gas and liquid fuels. In such an event for the SWIS, AEMO as the system operator is responsible for system restart under the Wholesale Electricity Market Rules and will do so with assistance from Western Power as the network operator. The process is highly technical and involves utilising generation assets with black start capability to energise a stable load. Once this is achieved, the remainder of the network is progressively re-energised.
h) Re-energisation is highly dependent on the cause and location of the system black event and the status of the network and generation infrastructure.
i) A system black by its definition means all customers connected to a given electricity network will experience loss of supply. Essential service providers and facilities should have backup generation to allow them to continue to operate, and this is a matter for each individual service's business continuity arrangements.
j) The volume of diesel kept on hand by essential services should provide a sufficient contingency under their business continuity plans based on individual circumstances, risk assessments, and relevant regulatory obligations.
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