A Town Rewiring Its Future: Collie, WA

Collie is a town of 9,000 people built on coal, now facing a future without it. With West Australia’s coal-fired power stations due to close by 2029, the question isn’t if the transition will happen but how.

The Collie area’s three coal-fired power stations and an alumina refinery account for 12.3 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year. That’s roughly 2.8% of Australia’s total emissions, equivalent to the annual output of about 2.7 million passenger cars. Of course, these emissions relate to serving the wider state, but the impact of winding down coal lands in Collie.

Collie is rewiring its future. Transition grants from government are helping retrain workers and businesses to pivot. Jason, once a power station operator, now owns a local pub with his wife Sarah (pictured). Alesha has launched a business selling industrial safety clothing. Companies like International Graphite and Magnium – climate solvers in their own right – are setting up shop aided by access to skills, land and some incentives.

The change is no longer abstract. It’s underway and offers a blueprint for other communities navigating their own transitions.