The Cook Labor Government of Western Australia has announced the establishment of a AU$1.4 billion (approximately US$1 billion) Clean Energy Fund to support the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure across the state, Asian Power reported.
The fund, which will be detailed in the 2026-27 State Budget, is designed to deliver clean, affordable, and reliable electricity to households and businesses, with a particular focus on Perth and the South West region. It will support a pipeline of transmission and generation projects to expand the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), the state’s main electricity grid.
A central component of the fund is the Clean Energy Link (CEL) programme. CEL-North is already under construction, connecting Malaga and Three Springs through high-capacity transmission lines, terminals, substations, and transformers to unlock the flow of renewable energy from Western Australia’s Mid West. CEL-North is on track for completion by late 2027. The next stage, CEL-East, will connect new wind and solar developments east of Collie to the grid and is expected to come online by the end of 2029. Together, CEL-North and CEL-East are projected to deliver around 3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity to residential, commercial, and industrial users while supporting approximately 800 construction jobs. CEL-East has been declared a priority project under the State Development Act 2025.
In addition, CEL-Kwinana has also been designated a priority project under the same legislation. It will deliver new transmission infrastructure to support up to 900 megawatts (MW) of additional energy demand in the Western Trade Coast industrial precinct.
The 2026-27 State Budget will also include a separate AU$7 million allocation to support Horizon Power’s renewable energy transition across regional Western Australia, with projects planned for the West Kimberley, Coral Bay, Hopetoun, Denham, and the Pilbara.
State Premier Roger Cook said the fund was central to his government’s vision of maintaining Western Australia’s position as the strongest economy in the nation. “This requires a secure supply of clean, reliable and affordable energy for households and businesses, which is what we will deliver with our AU$1.4 billion Clean Energy Fund and declaration of Clean Energy Link — East as a priority project under the State Development Act 2025,” he said.
Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the projects would create hundreds of local jobs and enable the state to draw on its abundant wind and solar resources.The Smart Energy Council welcomed the announcement, with its Western Australia General Manager John Welch describing the transmission investment as addressing one of the critical missing links in the state’s energy buildout.
