The WA government will soon decide whether Black Mountain Energy can frack 20 wells near the Kimberley's Fitzroy River, but promised measures to protect the environment and the rights of local people are not yet in place.
Alcoa chief executive Bill Oplinger told Wall Street the US aluminium specialist could take strong action to boost profits from alumina, most of which it refines in Western Australia.
South West WA's power grid reached a record 91 per cent peak renewable energy share in December - driven by 1,225 MW of new battery storage - while wholesale power prices fell 13 per cent and carbon emissions dropped 15 per cent as coal and gas generation declined.
After many recent setbacks for green hydrogen a huge WA project now looks more likely.
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.
Murchison is the first project to receive any of the $2 billion of Hydrogen Headstart funding from a short list of six announced in 2023.
BP put its Kwinana green hydrogen project, which was also shortlisted, on ice in February.
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.
An Alcoa plant to produce gallium in WA's South West will need green tape shredded to start on schedule and long term forest mining to be viable.
After a big splash four years ago and little publicity since, Woodside has teamed up with Japanese partners to promote a smaller, later, and dirtier hydrogen plant.
No room for the timid: The 2035 emissions target must signal strong ambition on climate action, to drive policy and investment and avoid being seen as unrealistic or too costly.
The US giant pretends Labor's policies are thwarting the expansion of its Gorgon and Wheatstone gas plants, which it does not plan to do anyway, to gain leverage with governments.
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