WA Premier Roger Cook's core "Made in WA" election policy will be tested by his use of local content provisions to keep Chevron's WA engineers working in WA.
The Murchison Green Hydrogen project has secured $814 million from the Federal Government's Hydrogen Headstart program towards building a massive wind and solar-powered ammonia production plant on WA's Mid-West coast.
Danish firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners plans to install about 1.2 gigawatts of solar panels, 1.7 gigawatts of wind turbines, and a 600 megawatt/two-hour battery about 15km north of Kalbarri.
The renewable energy will power electrolysers that split hydrogen from water, which is then used to make liquid ammonia.
The annual production of 1.3 million tonnes of ammonia would mainly be exported to Asia.
CIP aims to make a final investment decision on the project in late 2026, allowing phase one to enter production three years later.
The funding is a reduction-based credit that can offset income tax for the first ten years of operation to bridge the gap between current production costs and what the market is willing to pay.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said Australia has one of the largest renewable hydrogen project pipelines in the world.
“This support is about unlocking that private capital to help realise our potential, not only to become a renewable energy superpower but create a 'Future Made in Australia' with real jobs right now," he said.
CIP estimates the project will create 3600 jobs during construction and need 600 workers for operations.
Some people in Kalbarri are concerned that a 140,000-hectare lease from the WA government for the project will mean they are locked out of the vast area to the north of the town.
The project needs environmental approval from the WA government, abd CIP plans to submit an Environmental Review Document to WA's Environmental Protection Authority by mid-2025.
March 20, 2024.12:30PM: Updated project description to the latest data published by ARENA.
I worked in oil & gas in commercial and engineering roles for 20 years. Since 2016 I have written for The West Australian, The Saturday Paper, RenewEconomy, Michael West, Boiling Cold and WAtoday.
Hydrogen was once sold as a universal climate fix — a clean, green wonder fuel for cars, homes, power grids and even global export - but reality has cooled that buzz.
