Public feedback sought on 3-GW green H2 project in Western Australia

Plans for massive green hydrogen and ammonia production powered by 5.2 GW of wind and solar generation in Western Australia will be open for public comment this week, it was announced on Monday.

The Murchison Hydrogen Renewables project was initially put forward by Hydrogen Renewables Australia back in 2019, while a year later, it was joined by Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The referral filed with the state’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will be available for comments between May 2 and May 8.

While no specific details about the ambitious project were previously available, a submission to the Western Australian government shows that the Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Pty Ltd partnership intends to install about 1.5 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and 700 onshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of roughly 3.7 GW to power the green hydrogen hub. The complex, to be located near Kalbarri, will be equipped with 3 GW of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen and then convert it into around two million tonnes of green ammonia annually.

The Power-to-X (PtX) plant will be coupled with 250 MW-350 MW of battery storage capacity with a two-hour duration to regulate the incoming renewable electricity. The production process envisages using water from a new desalination plant.

Under the plan, the produced green ammonia is set to be exported to emerging green energy markets. The exports will be made possible through a cryogenic ammonia export pipeline that will link the PtX plant to a marine export facility.

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