History of Renewable Energy in WA
Renewable Energy for a Sunburnt Country
For centuries, people scattered over the wide open spaces of Australia's western third have relied on energy straight from nature. Over the years, new ways of extracting energy from sunshine, wind, water and biomass have been developed and now, in the twenty-first century, 'clean and green' renewable energy is becoming an increasingly important part of Western Australia's energy mix.
Aboriginal people were the State's first users of renewable energy, burning wood for cooking and heating. European colonists made similar uses of wood, and a few enterprising settlers harnessed the forces of nature by using waterwheels and windmills to grind flour. In the twentieth century, as living standards rose and energy consumption increased, fossil fuels quickly became the main source of energy for most Western Australians. Renewable energy, however, still had a place. Windmills for water pumping dotted the rural landscape. Water itself was used to produce electricity on a significant scale in the 1930s, with the installation of a 55kW hydroelectric plant at Pemberton. By the 1950s an early type of domestic solar hot water system was being sold, though in the expanding suburbs wood, gas and electric heaters remained the norm.
With the dramatic rise in the price of oil in the 1970's interest in renewable energy soared. In Western Australia the price of oil quadrupled in 1974. This had a significant impact on electricity generation as the State's three main power stations, East Perth, South Fremantle and Kwinana were all fuelled by oil. The change to coal-fired generation was undertaken to help reduce the cost of electricity generation but renewable energy development was also seen as an opportunity.
The development of renewable energy in Western Australia during the last 25 years of the 20th century has been documented by an historian as a State Government initiative. This work was carried out in 2000. Oral histories from some key participants in the renewable energy industry have been recorded and lodged in the Battye Library.
Horizon Power is well placed to become a leader in renewable energy implementation due to the remote location of many of its power stations. It is very expensive to transport fuel to remote areas and there is often a greater potential for impact should an incident occur. The use of renewable energy options reduces both the financial and environmental risk in these areas and is therefore a very attractive option.
Horizon Power will continue to work with our renewable energy partner, Verve Energy (Diesel & Wind Systems) in the development of renewable systems in regional Western Australia.
