Skepticism surrounds $3 billion energy investment in WA, with North West likely to receive bulk of funds

A $3 billion Commonwealth investment to expand WA’s electricity grids in Geraldton, Albany, Port Hedland and Karratha has been labelled a win for the North West with other regions possibly missing out. The investment will be in the form of low interest loans for priority projects, as announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, after putting pen to paper in a deal with Premier Roger Cook on Monday afternoon. The scheme aims to put more renewables into the energy grid and modernise transmission lines, but questions on whether the Mid West will see any palpable changes from the investment remain, after discussions indicated a clear focus on the North West. Mr Albanese said the renewable energy infrastructure would stimulate growth in WA’s north and south, allowing the country to inflate export industries in energy-intensive sectors while still cutting emissions. But WA Hydrogen Minister Bill Johnston confirmed a majority of funds would be directed to the North West and mining projects. “Western Australia is helping power our economy. Our Government is going to invest in powering Western Australia,” the PM said. City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the power system in the Mid West had “been deficient for a decade now, between Three Springs and Geraldton”. He encouraged some of the money be invested in Western Power to help make changes to the function of power in the region. The proposed Oakajee hydrogen hub was a popular point of discussion, a project set to supply green energy to the State, yet still to lift off the ground because of issues in finding an adequate power supply. “Oakajee has been held back because they have not invested in at least supplying networks and services to the region,” Mr Van Styn said. Mr Van Styn said he wanted a “bold and visionary government” that could “potentially look at connecting all of the North West Interconnected System and the South West Interconnected System“. He added the move was a slap in the face, putting $3b on the table to go to some of the country’s largest companies, but glossing over a loan to Western Power to upgrade its network here in the Mid West. Mr Johnston assured the Mid West would see funding to “unlock Oakajee”, but there was “a detailed process still for us to allocate resources to individual projects.” He confirmed the timeline of priority projects, with the first operation in the North West Interconnected system in the final approval phase, and construction expected to start next year. The announcement comes one week after the Mid West Development Commission assured stakeholders of the legitimacy of Oakajee at community forums. MWDC CEO Nils Hay said the organisation would “continue to support the State to plan and deliver the necessary infrastructure for Oakajee in a timely fashion”.