Huge gas-fired power station plan quietly revealed amid renewables fanfare

Energy prices for WA businesses could jump 89 per cent by 2032 without a radical increase in renewable energy generation, the state government says.

The push comes as WA's environmental watchdog seeks comment on a proposed 870-megawatt gas-fired power station south of Perth.

The scaling up of renewable energy looms as key to the government's stated ambition of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

WA's environmental watchdog has quietly released for public comment a plan for a mega gas-fired power plant on the same day the state government trumpeted an ambitious plan to almost double renewable energy generation in the next five years.

At 870-megawatts, the privately-owned power plant would be the state's biggest and located in Keralup, about 75 kilometres south of Perth.

Developed by energy giant APA, the Keralup Energy Hub would comprise a 210 megawatt facility for a future bio-fertiliser production facility, and a 660 megawatt facility which will eventually plug into the SWIS grid.

By comparison, WA's largest gas-fired station Pinjar has a 576 megawatt capacity, and the ongoing upgrade to the existing gas-fired Kwinana Swift Power Station will allow it to generate a total of 340 megawatts.

Asked if she saw the irony in announcing renewable energy targets amid the huge gas station proposal, Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson Sanderson said she did not want to pre-empt the approvals process.

"We've been very clear, and the premier has been very clear in his priorities for our economy and that is that we will become a renewable energy powerhouse," she said.

Ms Sanderson warned WA businesses could face price rises of 89 per cent by 2032 if the state did not radically scale up its renewable energy generation.

Government subsidies shield households from fluctuating power prices, but businesses are more vulnerable to turbulent costs caused, for example, by the supply impacts of the US-Israel war with Iran.

Ms Sanderson said the proportion of green power generated by the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) — WA's main electricity grid — needed to jump from 40 per cent to 75 per cent over the next five years.

That additional generation would mainly come from a mixture of wind, battery and solar power, and would also be supported by gas.

The government also highlighted a program, launched today following delays, that allows local manufacturers to take low-interest loans of up to $15 million to install solar and battery systems, and upgrade equipment.

The scaling up of renewable energy is shaping as a linchpin of WA's future energy supply, but is also key to the state government's stated ambition of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in line with the federal target.

WA would need to roll out renewables at 11 times that of historical rates to reach net zero by 2050, according to a Woodside-commissioned Deloitte report earlier this year.

Ms Sanderson said she did not support the report's findings as it was based on outdated data.

"Obviously the acceleration of the rollout of renewable energy, the momentum that we have, is significant," she said.

She said renewable energy generation in WA had jumped from 14 per cent to 40 per cent between 2017 and 2026 under WA Labor government's watch.

Every jurisdiction except WA and the Northern Territory has its own interim targets to reduce emissions before 2050.

Mr Cook has maintained his government is committed to the 2050 goal, but previously admitted the state's emissions may continue to rise in the short term.

The government has previously refused to release projections on when WA's emissions will begin to decrease so it can reach net-zero.

Internal government documents indicate the WA government is preparing to abandon plans to introduce interim emissions reduction targets, the ABC revealed in May.

The government would instead legislate targets for renewable energy generation, and targets for more controversial technologies including carbon capture and storage, and green exports.