Western Green Energy Hub

November 16th, 2024

Western Green Energy Hub

The Western Green Energy Hub is a proposal to design, construct and operate a large-scale wind and solar power project to produce value added products, with the base case assuming renewables-based hydrogen and ammonia production. The proposed development is situated in the far southeast of Western Australia in the Shire of Dundas and City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Main proponents:

InterContinental Energy, CWP Global, Mirning Green Energy Limited (MGEL)

 Main end-use classification:

Export markets main target

 Status:

Under development

 Estimated cost:

 
Other involvement:

 

 Production details:

Up to 4 million tonnes of renewables-based hydrogen production per annum at full capacity; Stage 1 plans are for 0.33 million tonnes per annum of hydrogen production

 Location:

Western Australia, Australia

 Announced funding:

 

Project description

The project proponents are planning to develop the Western Green Energy Hub as a large-scale hybrid wind and solar energy and renewables-based hydrogen production project in the far southeast of Western Australia, approximately 440 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie. Presently, renewables-based ammonia production is the base case hydrogen vector; this is to be further investigated and optimised during the development stages of the project.

The full-scale proposal would be implemented within a development envelope approximately 22,690 square kilometres in size and may generate over 200 TWh of renewable energy, dependent on the mix and size of wind and solar capacities.

Full-scale development proposal – main elements

The main onshore components include:

  • Wind turbines – up to approximately 3,000 wind turbines sited in a nominal grid (separated approximately 1.5-2.5 kilometres apart)
  • Solar Farms – up to approximately 35 solar PV farms and related infrastructure
  • Hydrogen electrolyser system – a suite of centrally-sited electrolysers, data centres, substations, compressors, cooling and storage facilities, etc.
  • Ammonia (or other vector) Production and Storage Facility – ammonia (or other vector) plants developed as ‘trains’

The main coastal and marine elements include a desalination plant, a marine offloading facility and an offshore ammonia (or other vector) export pipeline to transport the produced ammonia to an export terminal.

The operational capacities of the full-scale development include renewable power production of approximately 70 GW per annum, hydrogen production of approximately 4 million tonnes per annum and ammonia (or other vector) production of approximately 22 million tonnes per annum.

Greater detail on the full-scale development proposal can be found in the Western Green Energy Hub project referral documentation submitted to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (and published by the Authority in November 2024).

Infrastructure for the planned development would be developed in stages over a possible construction period of 30 years.

Stage 1 development concept – present planning

In July 2023, it was announced that the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding towards a Joint Development Agreement for the production of renewables-based hydrogen in Australia. Following on from July 2023 MoU, in September 2024, the WGEH and KEPCO announced the signing of a Collaboration Agreement in support of project advancement.

The Collaboration Agreement sets out a detailed plan for pursuing a full feasibility study for executing Stage 1 of the project. The resulting feasibility study would guide further development work on Stage 1 of the project.

The project proponent has advised that, on present planning, Stage 1 of project development is planned to generate around 6 GW of hybrid wind and solar power, enabling the production of up to 330,000 tonnes per annum of renewables-based hydrogen. Stage 1 planning and technical solutions may alter as further cultural, environmental, planning and engineering matters are reviewed.

The planned output of the Western Green Energy Hub would be targeted mainly for the export market as the ‘green fuels’ market expands during the 2030s. As well, the project would have the capability to supply domestic end-use markets.

In December 2021, the Western Australian Government announced the project would receive Lead Agency Services from the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

The project has advised that an application for Commonwealth Government Major Project Status has been submitted.

 

Reviewed (reviewed by a project proponent): November 2024