Australian gov’t to invest $1.9b in WA transmission upgrades

The funding will increase renewable capacity in the state’s electricity grids.

The federal government of Australia will be providing around $1.9b (A$3b) through concessional loans and equity investments to Western Australia to support the building and upgrading of its transmission infrastructure in major electricity grids.

In a statement, the government of Western Australia said the fund for the enhancement of the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) and the North West Interconnected System (NWIS) will be coursed through Clean Energy Finance.

The investment could provide around 1,800 construction job opportunities in the region.

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"This significant package means we can accelerate the development of key energy transmission projects to facilitate decarbonisation, while also building on my Government's climate action plan and initiatives already underway towards more secure, cleaner, reliable and affordable energy supplies,” said the Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook.

SWIS is the state’s main electricity network, supplying power to over 1.1 million residential and business customers in Perth and across the South West. The fund will be used to ramp up the supply of renewables and connect them to the grid.

Meanwhile, Pilbara’s NWIS is composed largely of standalone networks owned by private firms and public entities, generating less than 2% of electricity from renewables. This project will increase renewable energy in the system.

$1 = A$1.55