Infrastructure
CME’s Infrastructure stream covers energy, water, aviation, ports and shipping, freight (road and rail), industrial land use and broader infrastructure policy and planning considerations. CME’s advocacy encourages coordinated planning across infrastructure asset classes and prioritises identifying the State’s economic and social infrastructure needs.
Energy Policy
The following principles underpin CME’s position on energy in ongoing representations to the government and other key stakeholders.
- lower emissions future – with a long history of technological adoption and value-add, the WA resources sector will play a key role in supporting the economy’s ongoing transformation to a cleaner energy future. This principle is consistent and should be read with our policy position on climate change.
- one systems approach – promote whole-of-government coordination on all aspects of renewable and non-renewable energy use and delivery, rather than a traditional siloed approach on individual parts. A genuine whole-of-system approach will minimise inadvertent and unintended outcomes for the economic growth of the WA resources sector.
- all aspects, including but not limited to technical, commercial, legal, regulatory, strategic, operational and environmental risks.
- all sources and applications, including but not limited to electricity, gas, hydrogen, renewables (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass or other), liquid fuel security, diesel, energy storage (batteries), transport technologies (battery electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles) and types of use (residential, commercial and industrial).
- keep the lights on – maintain secure, stable and reliable energy supply, supporting diversification of a broad range of high-reliability generation sources and providing certainty on essential system services for large industrial loads; ensuring the rapid introduction of intermittent renewable generation does not risk the system.
- essential system services include system-wide frequency management, restart and restore, locational and other control services.
- uncontrollability of renewables can cause instability and safety issues in switching between non-synchronous (disconnected) and synchronous generation assets, which must be managed to prevent system-wide blackouts.
- low and stable costs – Efficient energy infrastructure informed by least cost, transparent and equitable market trading mechanisms and pricing to encourage competition and innovation by new and existing participants. As a critical input, the energy cost is a barrier to WA’s new or increased value-adding economic activity.
- sustainable – future-proof and provide fit-for-purpose policy and regulation to keep pace with a changing environment. Public investment in developing technology or infrastructure should be coordinated and complement private investment.
Infrastructure Reference Group
The Reference Group sits under the Economics & Productivity Committee and considers a broad range of issues primarily focused on build and non-build infrastructure priorities across industrial land, energy, transport corridors, aviation and ports, which are key growth enablers for the resources sector, and strategic assets supporting efficient operations and competitive movement of supply chains.
Priorities
- development of government policies and regulations on infrastructure is informed by the resources sector forecasted demand, supply and megatrends across energy, water and infrastructure.
- development and promotion of policy principles to guide CME advocacy on State-based energy matters, providing a framework for meeting the future needs of the State.
- identify the sector’s shared infrastructure priorities, including opportunities for common user infrastructure and turn-key ready Strategic Industrial Areas to promote investment and growth.
- availability and access to attractive frameworks for infrastructure investment, government funding mechanisms and public-private models for appropriate investment between industry, private financiers and tiers of government.
- release and implementation of State Planning Policies to provide certainty in protecting industrial areas, buffers and freight corridors.
- investment in port infrastructure and government planning strategies to ensure efficient port operations that facilitate trade at least cost.
Internal Groups
The following interest and working groups convene as needed to support the work of the Economics & Productivity Committee:
- Energy Transition Working Group
- Hydrogen Working Group
- Aviation
- Supply Chain
External Groups
The Reference Group and its supporting groups guide CME’s participation in several external bodies:
- Freight and Logistics Council of WA
- Infrastructure WA External Stakeholder Reference Group
- Perth Airport Planning Coordination Forum
- Economic Regulatory Authority Community Consultative Committee
- Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage Peer Review Group
- Westport Reference Group
- Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) WA Electricity Consultative Forum
- AEMO WA Gas Consultative Forum
- Department of Transport Aviation Community Consultative Groups