Bottleneck warning on Water Corp wind farm

Independent assessment of Water Corporation’s $283 million plan for a wind farm near Kojonup has flagged staffing competition among state-owned utilities as a potential development risk. 

Infrastructure Western Australia’s report into the Water Corp’s planned foray into energy at the Flat Rocks stage two wind farm said the project would be needed but has warned costs and timelines could blow out without careful planning.

“Water Corporation recognises that it currently does not develop, own or maintain wind farm assets as part of its business-as-usual activities, and therefore proposes to procure the necessary expertise to deliver the project,” the report said.

“The project may face construction market capacity constraints currently impacting the broader market and competing energy projects, which should be managed wherever possible.”

The report specifically referenced the potential for Flat Rocks, which the Water Corp hopes to bring online by 2026, to clash with Synergy’s plans for simultaneous wind farm development across the state.

“The project could potentially compete with Synergy’s renewable wind energy projects which are concurrently being developed,” the report said.

“This could occur particularly during construction, as both government-trading enterprises will be drawing on the same pool of skilled workers and procuring similar long-lead items.”

Building on development rights purchased from Moonies Hill Energy last year, Flat Rocks stage two will be Water Corp’s first foray into energy generation development and will help the utility in its plans to transition away from non-renewable energy sources. It will comprise 22 4.2-megawatt wind turbines.

The organisation hopes to achieve net-zero by 2035, and plans to develop the project at the same time as Synergy looks to add at least 400MW of new wind generation capacity to the South West Interconnected System by 2030.

While issuing words of caution, the Infrastructure WA report highlights the need for both Synergy’s and Water Corp’s wind farm projects to achieve the government’s decarbonisation goals.

The Water Corp business case for the project explored the development of Flat Rocks to be run in-house - the recommended project pathway - and the potential to acquire renewable energy through third-party providers.

It did not put forward a scenario which involved Synergy in the project's development.

“The business case did not assess the option of one of the energy GTEs, presumably Synergy, developing and operating the wind farm on Water Corporation’s behalf,” Infrastructure WA said.

“As a result, it is not possible to determine if this may present a more holistic outcome for government.”

The Infrastructure WA report was written in April but made publicly available on Friday. Flat Rocks was allocated funding in May’s state budget as part of a $2.8 billion decarbonisation initiative.

Its public release comes a month after Water Corporation revealed it had deferred plans to develop battery storage off the back of Infrastructure WA advice, which cautioned that coordination between utilities would be critical to meeting timelines and controlling costs.

Water Corporation revealed a $1 billion surplus last financial year in its annual report published last month, where it highlighted its commitment to the development of Flat Rocks.

The utility’s board is in the midst of a leadership transition, following last week’s resignation of chair Ross Love.