Western Australia’s North West has enormous potential to support new industries, green exports and stronger energy security. Turning that potential into practical outcomes was the focus of The Smart Energy Council’s side event at Global Citizen NOW: Perth.

Held on Tuesday 20 October at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, Energy Transition in the North West brought together perspectives from research, industry and government to explore the region’s industrial and economic opportunities.

The panel featured Professor Frank Jotzo from the Australian National University (ANU), Heidi Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Zero Emissions, and Tim Bray, Deputy Director General of PoweringWA within Western Australia’s Department of Energy and Economic Diversification.

Moderated by our CEO David McElrea, the discussion explored what it will take to translate the North West’s renewable energy resources into investment, industrial electrification, downstream manufacturing and long-term economic security.

Across the three perspectives, a common message emerged: delivery matters.

Energy as an investment

Tim Bray spoke about the changing way Western Australia is approaching energy infrastructure and its role in supporting the state’s economic future.

“The state is increasingly thinking about energy as an investment, rather than a cost,” he said.

Tim leads PoweringWA’s work to drive renewable energy deployment and coordinate the delivery of critical infrastructure. Bringing extensive experience across the public and private energy sectors, he offered a perspective on the practical challenges of delivering the infrastructure needed to support industrial development.

He acknowledged that implementation takes time and sustained effort.

“It’s not fast, it’s not easy, but it’s meaningful progress,” he said.

His contribution highlighted the importance of viewing energy infrastructure as a foundation for future investment, productivity and economic opportunity.

Building the infrastructure to unlock opportunity

Heidi Lee emphasised the urgency of accelerating deployment and ensuring that enabling infrastructure keeps pace with industrial ambition.

“We are in a race for absolutely everything, because we waited…The energy transition is not going to wait around,” she said.

As Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Zero Emissions, Heidi brings two decades of experience in sustainable design and architecture, alongside expertise in environmental advocacy and leadership.

She pointed to transmission as a critical part of the North West’s development, describing transmission lines as the “secret sauce” for unlocking opportunity across the region.

Her message reinforced the connection between renewable energy resources, the infrastructure needed to access them and the industries that can put that energy to productive use.

Moving further up the value chain

Professor Frank Jotzo turned the discussion to Australia’s industrial competitiveness and the opportunity to capture more value from its resources.

“We are as a country really very, very good at putting dirt on ships,” he said.

His point was that Australia has a significant opportunity to move further up the value chain, using renewable energy to support domestic processing, manufacturing and green commodity exports. However, other countries are competing for the same investment, industries and markets.

Frank is Director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at ANU and Professor of Environmental Economics at the university’s Crawford School of Public Policy. His research focuses on decarbonisation economics and policy, clean energy, industrial change and green commodity supply chains across Australia and Asia. Green iron is a current focus of his research group.

He also offered an encouraging assessment of progress in mining electrification.

“In terms of the electrification of mining equipment, I believe we’re on a good trajectory,” he said.

Together, these observations highlighted both the scale of the opportunity and the importance of acting competitively to secure its benefits.

A broader conversation about Western Australia’s future

The side event formed part of The Smart Energy Council’s participation in Global Citizen NOW: Perth, where discussions connected Western Australia’s energy and resources strengths with wider questions of investment, prosperity and community benefit.

At the opening of the event, Western Australian Premier Roger Cook described his vision for the state.

“When I talk about Western Australia’s future, it’s as a state of energy,” he said.

The Premier highlighted Western Australia’s abundant wind and solar resources, major resources base and investment in clean energy infrastructure. He also spoke about the importance of ensuring that growing prosperity reaches the communities that need it most.

The conversations began at an opening reception at the University of Western Australia, attended by Premier Cook, Global Citizen Co-Founder Michael Sheldrick and Fortescue Founder and Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest.

For The Smart Energy Council, these discussions reinforced the importance of working with business, industry and government to deliver cheaper, cleaner energy, stronger energy security and new industrial opportunities.

Our North West panel brought that ambition into practical focus: connecting renewable energy deployment with infrastructure, investment and industrial capability to deliver lasting economic benefits.

We thank Tim Bray, Heidi Lee, Professor Frank Jotzo and everyone who joined us for a thoughtful discussion.

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About the Smart Energy Council

The Smart Energy Council is the peak independent membership body representing Australia’s renewable energy industry. We are a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity, advocating on behalf of our members and the wider industry for strong energy policy, increased investment, energy security and sustainable industry growth. Our work spans residential, commercial and industrial distributed energy resources (DER), including solar PV and battery storage, rooftop solar, electrification, electric vehicles and smart transport, renewable manufacturing, large-scale renewable energy, electricity grid development and emerging energy technologies. We represent our members’ interests nationally and internationally, including across the Asia-Pacific region.

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