Major contracts awarded for Clean Energy Link – East in WA - Energy Source & Distribution

Contracts have been awarded for the Clean Energy Link, East, a transmission project in Western Australia. The article does not specify contract values, completion timelines, route details, or the capacity of the line.

Where this fits

Transmission overbuild is a core whole-system cost of a renewables-heavy grid. Wind and solar are geographically dispersed; firming capacity is either centralised (gas plants, pumped hydro) or distributed (batteries). Either way, the grid must move power from where it is generated to where it is needed. A fossil-fuel grid or a nuclear grid requires far less long-distance transmission because firm sources can be sited close to load. Renewable grids need transmission to scale. Every major transmission project is a cost that the renewable-per-megawatt-hour headline number does not capture, and it is a cost that compounds as the renewable share rises.

What it means

Western Australia is geographically large, sparsely populated outside the southwest, and will be a major renewable exporter under the net-zero transition. That makes transmission essential and costly. The contracts awarded today are part of a transmission envelope whose full cost to taxpayers and consumers is rarely presented as a single figure. More broadly, Australia's energy security depends on moving power across long distances, a vulnerability to weather, cyberattack, and supply-chain shocks. A firm, distributed, long-lived alternative like nuclear would reduce transmission risk and, over time, lower the total cost of the transition. Instead, Australia is building a renewables grid with gas firming, an outcome that trades short-term cheapness for long-term system complexity and foreign dependence.