Mandurah tops rooftop solar

Mandurah has been revealed as the top solar postcode in Western Australia, according to a new report which also found WA lags behind every other state in Australia in terms of total renewable energy capacity.

The report by the Climate Council, which ranks each state by its emissions and renewable energy capacity, found WA had the second highest level of emissions per person and was only ahead of the ACT and Northern Territory in terms of renewable energy capacity, at 936 megawatts.

The report’s release comes days after Premier Colin Barnett told The West Australian while visiting Brisbane during the G20 that Australia and WA could be bolder in their actions against climate change.

WA Renewable Energy Alliance chairman Richard Harris told Business News he welcomed Mr Barnett’s comments and hoped it would translate to state electricity provider Synergy increasing its use of renewable energy.

“I applaud the premier for his foresight on climate change,” Mr Harris said.

“It is heartening to hear WA’s leader taking this sensible approach to the transition to low emission fuels in order to combat global warming.

“I hope Energy Minister (Mike) Nahan will take his lead and require Synergy to increase its use of renewable energy for power generation.’’

According to the Climate Council report, 11 per cent of WA’s electricity comes from renewable energy.

“With our abundant resources of cheap and reliable renewable energy, WA should be leading the world,” Mr Harris said.

The report found solar photovoltaic uptake in WA was third highest in the nation, with 18.4 per cent of houses having solar panels on their roofs.

It found 1,615 people in WA worked in the renewable energy industry.