# Premier claims WA a ‘renewable energy powerhouse’ but leaked document shows wind and solar projects have ‘stalled’

**Exclusive:** Government document confirms electricity from large-scale renewables has flatlined, with one campaigner saying pipeline has ‘little sign of life’

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Officials have warned the Western Australian Labor government that work to build wind and solar farms for the state’s main electricity grid has stalled under its leadership, a leaked document shows.

A confidential state government document reveals state bureaucrats advised the government that the “decarbonisation work program” in Perth’s electricity grid had “stalled to date”. It said there were “few new wind developments” advanced enough to be added to the grid before the promised closure of a coal power station in 2027.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

It reinforces independent data suggesting the amount of electricity from large-scale wind and solar developments has effectively flatlined at about 18% of total generation in the grid, known as the South West Interconnected System, or Swis, since 2021.

WA organisation Sustainable Energy Now found no major wind or solar developments were added to the grid in the first three years of the last term of parliament, between 2021 and 2023.

One wind project, the 76 megawatt Flat Rocks farm at Kojonup, was connected last year and a solar farm, the 128MW Cunderdin plant, came online in January. The organisation said only two further windfarms had been confirmed by 2028.

The clean energy slowdown does not apply to electricity from rooftop solar panels, which last year provided 19.8% of Perth’s electricity – for the first time more than the total from solar and windfarms – or utility-scale batteries. Several large batteries are in development and the government has promised a rebate scheme for household batteries if re-elected.

The premier, Roger Cook, last week told Guardian Australia that Labor wanted WA to be a “renewable energy powerhouse, utilising the extraordinary solar and wind assets that we have”, and that zero-emissions generation in the grid had more than doubled since it came to power 2017.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

It reinforces independent data suggesting the amount of electricity from large-scale wind and solar developments has effectively flatlined at about 18% of total generation in the grid, known as the South West Interconnected System, or Swis, since 2021.

WA organisation Sustainable Energy Now found no major wind or solar developments were added to the grid in the first three years of the last term of parliament, between 2021 and 2023.

One wind project, the 76 megawatt Flat Rocks farm at Kojonup, was connected last year and a solar farm, the 128MW Cunderdin plant, came online in January. The organisation said only two further windfarms had been confirmed by 2028.

The clean energy slowdown does not apply to electricity from rooftop solar panels, which last year provided 19.8% of Perth’s electricity – for the first time more than the total from solar and windfarms – or utility-scale batteries. Several large batteries are in development and the government has promised a rebate scheme for household batteries if re-elected.

The premier, Roger Cook, last week told Guardian Australia that Labor wanted WA to be a “renewable energy powerhouse, utilising the extraordinary solar and wind assets that we have”, and that zero-emissions generation in the grid had more than doubled since it came to power 2017.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

It reinforces independent data suggesting the amount of electricity from large-scale wind and solar developments has effectively flatlined at about 18% of total generation in the grid, known as the South West Interconnected System, or Swis, since 2021.

WA organisation Sustainable Energy Now found no major wind or solar developments were added to the grid in the first three years of the last term of parliament, between 2021 and 2023.

One wind project, the 76 megawatt Flat Rocks farm at Kojonup, was connected last year and a solar farm, the 128MW Cunderdin plant, came online in January. The organisation said only two further windfarms had been confirmed by 2028.

The clean energy slowdown does not apply to electricity from rooftop solar panels, which last year provided 19.8% of Perth’s electricity – for the first time more than the total from solar and windfarms – or utility-scale batteries. Several large batteries are in development and the government has promised a rebate scheme for household batteries if re-elected.

The premier, Roger Cook, last week told Guardian Australia that Labor wanted WA to be a “renewable energy powerhouse, utilising the extraordinary solar and wind assets that we have”, and that zero-emissions generation in the grid had more than doubled since it came to power 2017.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

It reinforces independent data suggesting the amount of electricity from large-scale wind and solar developments has effectively flatlined at about 18% of total generation in the grid, known as the South West Interconnected System, or Swis, since 2021.

WA organisation Sustainable Energy Now found no major wind or solar developments were added to the grid in the first three years of the last term of parliament, between 2021 and 2023.

One wind project, the 76 megawatt Flat Rocks farm at Kojonup, was connected last year and a solar farm, the 128MW Cunderdin plant, came online in January. The organisation said only two further windfarms had been confirmed by 2028.

The clean energy slowdown does not apply to electricity from rooftop solar panels, which last year provided 19.8% of Perth’s electricity – for the first time more than the total from solar and windfarms – or utility-scale batteries. Several large batteries are in development and the government has promised a rebate scheme for household batteries if re-elected.

The premier, Roger Cook, last week told Guardian Australia that Labor wanted WA to be a “renewable energy powerhouse, utilising the extraordinary solar and wind assets that we have”, and that zero-emissions generation in the grid had more than doubled since it came to power 2017.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

It reinforces independent data suggesting the amount of electricity from large-scale wind and solar developments has effectively flatlined at about 18% of total generation in the grid, known as the South West Interconnected System, or Swis, since 2021.

WA organisation Sustainable Energy Now found no major wind or solar developments were added to the grid in the first three years of the last term of parliament, between 2021 and 2023.

One wind project, the 76 megawatt Flat Rocks farm at Kojonup, was connected last year and a solar farm, the 128MW Cunderdin plant, came online in January. The organisation said only two further windfarms had been confirmed by 2028.

The clean energy slowdown does not apply to electricity from rooftop solar panels, which last year provided 19.8% of Perth’s electricity – for the first time more than the total from solar and windfarms – or utility-scale batteries. Several large batteries are in development and the government has promised a rebate scheme for household batteries if re-elected.

The premier, Roger Cook, last week told Guardian Australia that Labor wanted WA to be a “renewable energy powerhouse, utilising the extraordinary solar and wind assets that we have”, and that zero-emissions generation in the grid had more than doubled since it came to power 2017.

The advice, seen by Guardian Australia, was written late last year, before a state election campaign that will be decided on Saturday.

It reinforces independent data suggesting the amount of electricity from large-scale wind and solar developments has effectively flatlined at about 18% of total generation in the grid, known as the South West Interconnected System, or Swis, since 2021.

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The self-charging human: why you could be the next renewable energy source

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This content was paid for by Deakin University and produced by the Guardian Labs team.





### The self-charging human: why you could be the next renewable energy source

Paid for by

This content was paid for by Deakin University and produced by the Guardian Labs team.



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