Plans to construct the world’s biggest renewable energy hub in Western Australia have been given to the Western Australian Government.

Owners of the proposed $A100 billion ($US65 billion) Western Australian Green Energy Hub have provided details of their project to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority.

Situated on a remote area on the Hampton Tablelands in the southeast corner of Western Australia, the proposal at full scale could eventually see up to 3,000 wind turbines and 6 million solar panels constructed over an area stretching west for hundreds of kilometres starting at the South Australian border.

The energy generated from this will be used to produce green hydrogen. In turn, this will be made available for use in power generation as well as supply of shipping fuel, minerals processing and heavy transport.

The green hydrogen will supply both domestic and international use.

Internationally, a key customer will be South Korea, after the Korea Electric Power Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with the project owners to collaborate towards a joint development agreement to produce the hydrogen.

The project will be developed in multiple phases.

In its first phase, the project will generate up to 8GW of wind and solar power.

This energy will be used to produce up to 500Ktpa of zero-carbon green hydrogen.

A final investment decision in regard to this is expected in 2029.

Remaining phases will be constructed over several decades.

(project map)

According to the project owners, the location is ideal as the areas is an undulating tableland and has beneficial profiles of untapped wind and sun.

However, concern has been raised about the about the project’s environmental impact.

All up, the development proposed to clear up to 27,00 hectares of land and partially clear a further 77,000 hectares.

This would be needed to install turbines, solar farms, electrolysers, data centres, power lines, pumping and cooling systems, an ammonia production facility, workshops/fabrication facilities and worker villages to accommodate up to 8,000 people,

The plans also involve an infrastructure corridor from the hub to the coast through the newly announced South Coast Marine Park.

Scientists have raised concerns that the development would impact the world’s largest arid limestone karst system on the Nullarbor Plain – a spectacular hidden world of ancient caves and rock holes.

The project is owned by green hydrogen provider Intercontinental Energy (46 percent), integrated renewable energy provider CWP Global (44 percent) and the Mirning People (10 percent), who has exclusive native title rights over the proposed project area.

In addition to state approval, the project will almost certainly require federal environmental approvals.

 

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