Hydrogen, renewables projects get major project status

The federal government has awarded major projects status to Western Australian renewables and critical minerals projects the Murchison Green Hydrogen project, NiWest Nickel Cobalt project and Australian Renewable Energy Hub.

Together the projects judged of national significance accelerate net zero goals and support industry’s transition to green energy exports.

The Murchison Green Hydrogen project near Kalbarri in Western Australia is a large-scale wind, solar, hydrogen and ammonia plant with an estimated cost of $15 billion.

The project aims to generate six giga watts of renewable energy each year and produce around two million tonnes of green ammonia.

Funded by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), construction of the project will take five years and over its expected project lifespan of 30 years will employ over 600 people.

A Partner at CIP and Co-head of the Energy Transition Fund Karsten Plauborg said: “It has some of the best wind and solar combi- nation on the planet – really strong winds and really strong sun. These complement each other as typically the wind is strong when the sun isn’t shining, and vice versa.”

The NiWest Nickel Cobalt project north of Kalgoorlie aims to produce 90,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate and 6,800 tonnes of cobalt sulphate annually – critical minerals needed for manufacturing future technologies.

The estimated project cost is $1.26 billion, with the project employing 400 when completed.

The BP-led $53.5 billion Australian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara region of WA hub consists of two sites:

• A hydrogen processing facility capable of producing around 1.6 million tonnes of hydrogen and nine million tonnes of green ammonia each year
• And a 6,500 square kilometre solar array and wind farm expected to produce up to 26 giga watts of combined solar and wind power each year.

The project will employ up to 3,000 people once operational.

Picture: BP