PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE PILBARA ENERGY TRANSITION PLAN
ENERGY AND MINES: What opportunities does the Pilbara Energy Transition Plan present?
front of us to support the Government’s ambition and the resources sector to lower its emissions with safe, reliable, low-cost and lower emissions energy. As a new and ambitious plan, I expect it will take time to build momentum, which means the regulatory environment is critical and must evolve to provide confidence for large-scale investments. For example, a key focus of the Western Australian Government’s plan is to unlock high-quality wind resources to support the region’s decarbonisation efforts. Streamlining land tenure and approval processes will accelerate project timelines and support investment in new projects. Rising costs and supply chain constraints continue to pose challenges across the energy transition, which can potentially affect project delivery timeframes. This is why we see an opportunity for greater industry collaboration on shared infrastructure to improve efficiency, lower costs and ultimately support an orderly and successful energy transition in remote grid energy.
DARREN ROGERS: Decarbonising the energ- intensive and typically remote operations of Australia’s leading mining and resources companies will be a major undertaking. These organisations account for around 15% of our country’s total energy consumption, most of which is derived from fossil fuels. If Western Australia and Australia are to reach net zero by 2050, it is essential that we have a plan for decarbonisation and this plan must address the unique challenges of the Pilbara, including its remoteness and its challenging climate, with extreme heat and summer cyclones. The Western Australian Government’s Pilbara Energy Transition Plan aims to support the decarbonisation of the Pilbara with the orderly build-out of renewables. With APA’s $3 billion pipeline of projects in the Pilbara, we have a significant opportunity in
Announced at the end of last year, the Pilbara Energy Transition Plan has the potential to propel mining decarbonisation in the region. Darren Rogers, Group Executive Energy Solutions at energy infrastructure firm APA, shares an update on the progress made so far – and the hurdles yet to overcome.
DARREN ROGERS
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