Water, energy and labour key issues for WA resources projects

The State Growth Outlook report is based on an industry survey of development intentions, focusing on the implications of the key growth enablers of people, energy and water.

CME chief executive Reg Howard-Smith said policy settings which focused on key growth enablers would have a significant bearing on the success of future projects and overall community prosperity.
“The availability of labour, energy and water will have a major impact on the ability of companies to deliver the next wave of resource projects on time and on budget.

“With $200 billion worth of projects in the pipeline, we’re entering a critical phase in the development of the State.

“This report confirms the pressures already confronting the sector in the areas of labour, energy and water. For example, based on current ABS population projections, there will be a forecast deficit in workforce requirements.

“It’s vital that industry works with government to get the policy settings right, to ensure the benefits of a strong resource industry are delivered to all Western Australians.”

State Growth Outlook 2011 – Key Findings:
Labour
•    Driven by a pipeline of projects, the WA resource sector’s direct workforce will soon pass 100,000 people – reaching a peak of 119,500 people by the end of next year.
•    This is an increase of almost 44,000 on the total 2009 workforce (75,600) – mainly due to an increase in pre-production workers.
•    By 2020, incremental increases may see the sector’s direct workforce pass more than 122,000.
Electricity
•    Growth in electricity consumption will be 6.9% per annum to 2020 – substantially higher than ABARE’s estimate of 2.1% to 2030.
•    Driven by projects in the resource sector, total electricity consumption in WA could increase by as much as 70 per cent (on 2009 levels) by 2015.
•    Sector demand over this period (to 2015) is expected to increase by 18,800 GWh – and to 27,000 GWh by 2020. More than 80 per cent of this demand will be self-generated – most of which will be fuelled by domestic gas.
Water
•    Total water demand in WA is expected to increase from 2,500 GL/a in 2009 to 3,820 GL/a by 2020.
•    Additional water use by the sector is expected to reach 422 GL/a above 2009 demand levels by 2015. Most of this water will be self-extracted.
Key recommendations:
•    Ranking education and training as the top policy priority for government, industry and the community;
•    As an immediate priority, working with policy makers and the community to address projected labour shortages;
•    Development of a State Infrastructure Plan and associated institutional reform;
•    Exploration of innovative ways to manage water and energy usage; and
•    Alignment of strategic planning and policy initiatives, according to a vision for the State and a focus on regional WA.
The 2011 CME State Growth Outlook is available at www.cmewa.com