A new grants program designed to support wind turbine manufacturing in Western Australia has been launched by the state government and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre.
The Wind Energy Manufacturing Co-Investment Program, funded in this year’s state Budget, will make $8 million available to help local businesses enter wind energy supply chains or grow their market share.
The program will award matched grants in two streams, offering up to $500,000 to support ‘market growth’ and matched grants of up to $30,000 to support ‘market entry’.
Priority areas include manufacturing of wind tower foundations, anchor cages, nacelle components and assembly, transmission poles and specialised trailers for transporting wind turbines.
The program will also fund capacity building for replacement parts, servicing and refurbishing centres.
The market growth stream will help fund plant and equipment upgrades and research and development projects to create competitive advantage, whereas the market entry stream will support activity like pre-qualification, accreditation and process improvement.
Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre managing director Dr Jens Goennemann said the program would leverage the state’s skilled manufacturing capability in mining, minerals and energy.
“The Wind Energy Manufacturing Co-Investment Program will focus on identifying local capabilities that can be turned towards opportunities in wind energy generation,” Dr Goennemann said.
Australia’s only domestic wind turbine tower manufacturer, Victoria-based Keppel Prince, last month announced plans to cease operations in March 2025 citing its inability to compete with low-cost manufacturers from China.
Earlier on Tuesday, the WA government also announced the recipients of $33.6 million of grants though the Lower Carbon Grants (LCG) Program, funded by oil and gas giant Chevron.
Among the projects funded by the program is the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation’s renewable energy community power project, which received $5 million.
A further $6.1 million went to the Hazer Group to continue work on a low-emissions technology that converts methane from sewage treatment into hydrogen and graphite, without producing carbon dioxide.
Around $22 million went to three carbon capture, storage and utilisation projects being led by Biomass Projects, Yara Pilbara Fertilisers and the CSIRO.
The state government also announced the launch that the Curtin University-run GreenTech hub’s first innovation challenge will focus on energy storage solutions. The hub is also funded by the LCG program.
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