Harnessing the relentless Western Australian sun for our bright energy future

Turning our scorching sun into raw power

In my years as a GP, I have seen plenty of patients suffer in the heat of a Western Australian summer. That blistering sun beating down on our black bitumen car parks is a wasted opportunity. It is high enough to fry an egg, yet we treat it merely as an inconvenience. While we continue to shuffle along with our current energy models, our friends in France have been doing something remarkably clever. They have mandated that car parks with more than eighty spaces must be covered by solar canopies. This simple, effective policy has unlocked eleven gigawatts of power. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent of ten nuclear power stations. That is not just a policy shift, it is a revolution in how we harvest energy.

Why we are falling behind the curve

I recently put a question to the government in the Legislative Council today. I wanted to see if we could match such ambition here in Western Australia. We have the land, we have the space, and most importantly, we have the sun. The figures provided to me show that we have added one point four gigawatts of new solar capacity over the last three years. While that is progress, it is a drop in the ocean compared to what we could achieve if we were bold. The risk of inaction is profound. Relying on outdated grid thinking is a waiting room where we watch our energy potential die. We need to be more than just observers of the transition. We need to lead it.

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A prescription for a brighter WA

The evidence remains clear. Solar power is our greatest asset. It is clean, it is abundant, and it is right above our heads. We do not need to wait for complex technology or massive infrastructure overhauls. We simply need the political will to mandate canopy coverage on our massive swathes of parking asphalt. That heat currently radiating away into the atmosphere should be charging our homes, powering our industries, and keeping our economy resilient. You can read the full dialogue regarding these solar power generation questions in the official record. Fighting for a smarter, evidence-based approach is the reason I am in the Legislative Council. If you believe we deserve a more sensible future, I encourage you to join Legalise Cannabis WA today. Together, we can ensure our energy policy is as bright as our physical environment.