The Future of Energy in WA - Debate in Parliament

I move —

That this house —

(a) acknowledges the need for reliable energy sources in the regions;

(b) recognises that energy infrastructure built above ground is and will continue to be impacted by the changing climate and natural disasters;

(c) agrees that creative and diverse solutions will be necessary in the future to maintain a stable supply; and

(d) considers a decentralised power grid as a means to provide increased stability and reassurance of continued reliable energy during a time of rising electricity usage.

It is an interesting time to bring forward this motion. Our vulnerability to outages has been demonstrated several times already. Certainly, the timing of the fourth full-country blackout after several extreme weather events in Cuba is a timely reminder of how vulnerable we all are. With much of our infrastructure dependent on electricity supply, including for food storage, agriculture, medical care, mining and communications, it is obvious that we need continuous reliable energy. It has also been noted that when the power cost is low, it benefits small businesses, boosting our economy and driving down unemployment.

The cost of electricity and the reliability of supply also disproportionately affects those who are less well-off and those who are elderly or dealing with poor health. Access to air conditioning and heating will become more important as our climate becomes increasingly erratic. It will then clearly become a human rights issue, which the World Health Organization specifically recognises. As a relatively wealthy state, we are in the lucky position of being able to implement various measures that will provide a buffer to future climates and economic variances.

Currently, most of our energy supply network is above ground. This leaves us very vulnerable to climate events and accidents, including everything from fires, thunder and floods to car accidents. Blackouts affected the wheatbelt in January and Bunbury in July, for example. With our very obvious reliance on power for almost every aspect of our lives, these power outages are very inconvenient and very costly, and may well endanger lives.

Apart from the obvious maintenance that above-ground systems require, there is also the loss of energy due to resistance. Physics is not my forte so I am unable to work out how much power is lost in servicing the regions, but it would be interesting to know how much extra we need to produce to be able to cover our needs. In northern Europe, most power supply cables for domestic use are below ground. This has been the case for decades already and has very much reduced power outages; even in cases of bad weather and traffic accidents; we seem to be okay there. It is still prone to human error, such as when digging in the wrong places, but I am not quite sure how to fix that bit.

In Australia currently, all aspects of power creation are controversial. There is nuclear on the one hand and renewable sources on the other. Fossil fuels are also controversial. I love science, and I think a wide range of options needs to be considered as part of finding long-lasting solutions. Like anything controversial, it is hard to find reliable data. We are dealing with corporate interests, subsidies, grants, misinformation and disinformation and ideologies, all of which create biases and echo chambers. Human nature is showing itself to be one of the biggest obstacles here. So far, the energy sources that I am personally aware of are wind, solar, coal, hydro, gas, wave technology, nuclear— both with plutonium and thorium—methane and oils. A quick comment about thorium is that it is not really researched quite as much. The waste associated with thorium remains radioactive for about 100 years, whereas waste from traditional nuclear power such as plutonium can be radioactive for many, many thousands of years.

Another aspect of electricity usage and security is how we use it, how much of it we use and whether we have energy-friendly design—for instance, housing, cars and other areas that electricity is used for. There are a whole bunch of parameters that we have to deal with to ensure secure and reliable energy going forward. To do that, we also need unbiased data from our institutions, basically, and that seems to be difficult still. I think one of the big solutions created by that to address some of these issues is to look at microgrids, which rate quite high. These grids could be for the individual household. We can see that, say with people wanting to live off-grid, and certainly in farming communities. A lot of farms are self-sustaining. It could also be slightly larger, say for a suburb, small town or a number of households connected to that same grid. The move towards localised, decentralised energy sources represents a significant shift from traditional centralised power models. There are a lot of advantages for remote and vulnerable communities in Western Australia, because when we look at our geography, we see that this is a massive state and getting power everywhere is a big challenge. A lot of our remote communities rely on diesel generators; I am sure that could be improved. It is not just the making of diesel that has a carbon footprint; it is also the transport of diesel to these locations and the use of the diesel there. I think we can do better there.

At the same time, in the south west of our state, communities like Walpole are making progress. Western Power’s small hydroelectric dam in Walpole is the first pumped hydro microgrid designed to improve power reliability for the local community. It uses two farm dams to store energy by pumping water uphill when renewable energy is abundant and when there is high demand or outages, the stored water is released to generate electricity. This system is expected to provide backup power for the town of Walpole for up to two days. This is much longer than typical battery solutions, but we need more than 48 hours. We need a system that does not rely on long transmission lines or short-term backup solutions, but instead gives communities the ability to consistently generate and store their own energy. This is when microgrids come into play. They are localised and can operate independently or in conjunction with the main power grid. We could also look into wind tulips. Wind tulips are small units—they can be made from hemp, by the way—that do not cause vibration and can be installed on someone’s roof very simply. They are very safe.

Microgrids make the systems much more reliable and stable and less vulnerable to environmental factors. If a transmission line were to go down, entire regions could be left without power for days, even weeks, and by contrast, a microgrid ensures that a local community can continue to operate regardless of what happens to the larger grid.

Beyond the environmental benefits, microgrids offer communities autonomy. By generating their own power, communities become less dependent on centralised providers that may not always have the capacity or interest to prioritise smaller, more isolated regions. This level of dependence enhances resilience for those communities, reducing disruptions and making it safer overall. In addition to providing stability in the face of disasters, microgrids reduce transmission losses. Traditional power systems often lose a significant amount of energy as electricity travels from a central power plant to homes and businesses. By contrast, microgrids generate and use electricity locally, which means that less energy is wasted and the system overall becomes more efficient. Microgrids can also exist without the burden of energy management being placed on local communities. It can and should be placed on the government and responsible entities. Rather than small communities or local councils, the government should oversee the provision and maintenance of these systems. By doing so, we create jobs, stimulate local economies and ensure that the technical and financial complexities of energy provision are managed by experts.

Western Australia has already begun taking steps towards this future. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has funded several microgrid projects across the country, including in our own state. One such project is the Onslow microgrid, which integrates solar battery storage and gas-fired generation to provide a more stable and sustainable energy supply. Onslow’s system is a model for how remote communities can reduce the reliance on diesel while transitioning to a cleaner, more resilient energy future, especially as this transition moves past the gas-fired component, hopefully with additional generation capacity and battery storage. The benefits of microgrids extend beyond large-scale systems. On a smaller scale, individual households can adopt similar setups by installing rooftop solar panels alongside home batteries to ensure the energy needs are met even during outages or fluctuations in grid power. These systems not only save money, but also increase household self-sufficiency, which can be crucial during emergencies. Households also have the flexibility to switch between being autonomous or connected to the grid, depending on their needs and preferences at any given time. That grid could also work with large industries as they could complement each other. For instance, many large-scale industries such as mining and manufacturing are now turning to renewable energy sources to meet their carbon offset targets and reduce operational costs. As industries increasingly adopt wind, solar and battery systems for their energy needs, they are setting a precedent for decentralising energy generation.

The shift towards self-provision among heavy industries opens the door for collaboration with local communities, as I stated earlier, by developing microgrids that serve both industrial operations and nearby towns. We can create a symbiotic relationship in which excess energy generated by industry can be fed back into local grids, providing stability and reducing costs for households. This decoupling of heavy industry from the grid is not just about reducing emissions; it is about creating a more resilient, decentralised energy system that benefits everyone involved. By integrating these industrial microgrids with community-based microgrids, we can build a more interconnected network of localised energy systems. That would reduce the overall demand on the main grid, making it more reliable and reducing the likelihood of large-scale blackouts. It would also allow for a more flexible, adaptive energy system that can respond to the unique needs of both industry and local communities.

Hemp is seen as a new material for battery manufacture. I do not yet know how efficient those batteries are necessarily, but I have noted that there are increasing issues with lithium batteries. When I was on a flight in Europe recently, we were told that if any of our gadgets overheated, we were to contact the flight attendants. Also, no lithium batteries were allowed to be stored in our luggage; we were allowed to keep them in our bags as cabin luggage. The concerns around lithium are increasing. Hopefully, hemp will offer a less flammable version of a deep cycle battery at some stage. Lithium mining is also quite toxic to the environment and still requires us in the south west especially to remove trees— now called ecological thinning. Hemp is a sustainable resource. It grows really quickly, it can be used in houses, making them much more energy friendly, and also in batteries, plus in things like wind tulips and other materials or other builds that require strong fibre.