Western Australia’s moves to supply liquefied natural gas to California could provide opportunities for the state’s renewable energy companies to piggyback into that significant energy market
Western Australia’s moves to supply liquefied natural gas to California could provide opportunities for the state’s renewable energy companies to piggyback into that significant energy market, according to WA Department of Industry and Resources deputy director general Gary Stokes.
Mr Stokes recently returned from California and Mexico, where he accompanied Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane on a tour to promote WA’s LNG supply, as well as clarify issues surrounding LNG supply to the US west coast.
WA-based LNG projects such as the ChevronTexaco-led Gorgon project on Barrow Island, the Woodside-led North West Shelf joint venture, and BHP Billiton with its WA Scarborough project, are currently pursuing opportunities on the US west coast.
While reaffirming his confidence in California’s LNG potential, Mr Stokes said the Californian renewable energy market also offered Australian companies significant opportunity.
Along with the Californian public’s significant interest in renewable energy, Mr Stokes said the Californian administration had set some very interesting renewable energy targets.
“By 2020 it is targeting 30 per cent of its energy to come from renewable sources,” he said. “In most places 10 to 15 per cent is remarkable.”
Areas of interest include solar hot water systems, wind energy, geothermal technologies, hydrogen transport, energy efficient design for housing, commercial buildings and planning.
Mr Stokes said Australian companies would have a lot to offer the California renewable market.
“I think there is an assumption that California or the US is at the forefront of the environmental debate, yet in many areas Australia is equivalent if not in front,” he told WA Business News.
Mr Stokes said a strategy could be formulated to pull together a renewables package, which could piggyback into California on the awareness WA’s LNG projects had already created.
WA-based solar energy and water solutions company Solco is one local company interested in learning more about the Californian market.
Chief operating officer Stuart Whitlam said California was an area of interest, although not currently a target for ASX-listed Solco, which sells solar hot water systems and also had a solar-powered water generation business.
He said the company was already established in Asia and was currently targeting Europe, but while the US was part of its thinking, Solco only had limited resources.
“However, we would be very interested in working with whoever to explore opportunities,” Mr Whitlam said.
He agreed that WA renewable energy companies, particularly those involved in solar hot water and remote area power (RAP) supply, had a lot to offer.
“As far as solar hot water is concerned, Perth is a world capital.”
And WA’s remote area power supply industry was one of the more developed in the world, he said.
