Fortescue Future Industries’ global campaign to become a green hydrogen superpower will continue a push into Esperance where it claims to have signatures from “more than 50” residents willing to lease it land.
Key points:
- Fortescue Future Industries says it remains interested in building a green hydrogen project in Esperance
- A sustainability expert is surprised the company believes it can export 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen globally by 2030
- The company hopes many more Esperance landowners will agree to lease it land
The company, led by WA billionaire Andrew Forrest, has for two years been spruiking its plan to export 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030.
It was a goal many analysts believed was incredibly ambitious given the commercial industry for the renewable resource was in its infancy.
But Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) director Maia Schweizer said the vision had gained traction in Esperance, an area on WA’s south coast known for its thriving agricultural sector.
Ms Schweizer said more than 50 landowners had signed agreements to register their interest in hosting the wind turbines and solar panels needed to make green hydrogen.
She did not say how much land they would collectively make available but said it was enough to “build a wind farm that’s bigger than the biggest one that’s operating in Australia today”.
Among the biggest wind farms proposed in Australia is Queensland’s MacIntyre Wind Farm precinct, which the company last year stated would cover about 360 square kilometres.
University of WA sustainability expert and adjunct professor, Bill Grace, said about 35,000- 50,000 square kilometres of wind farm would be required to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen each year.
That equated to a project about 100 times the size of the Queensland precinct.
The estimate has been put to FFI for comment.
“I’m struggling to see how [FFI] is so confident about doing it,” Mr Grace said.
He said the whole of Esperance Shire was 42,000 square kilometres.
“So if they packed the entire Esperance Shire with wind farm they would almost get there, but obviously they’re not going to do that,” he said.
“That gives you a kind of indication of the scale of land that’s required just for the wind farms, let alone the facility that produces the hydrogen and the ability to export that hydrogen.”
While Esperance is believed to be among FFI’s many potential locations for green hydrogen hubs around the world, Mr Grace suggested each one would need to be as big as possible to stack up financially.
Ms Schweizer indicated he was right.
“[The 50-plus signatures so far] is a very, very good start,” she said.
“Would I be even happier if we had twice as many? Absolutely.
“With a project like this, almost the bigger the scale, the better.
“The cost of export facilities, for example, becomes more attractive the larger the project you can spread it over.”
Ms Schweizer also said if the Esperance project went ahead, it would likely happen later than their east coast projects, because more new infrastructure would be needed.
She said it might not get off the ground until after the 2030 goalpost had passed.
“It probably will move a little bit more slowly than some of those projects over on the east coast,” she said.
‘More government intervention’
Ms Schweizer did not provide details about the signed agreements except to say they likely included exclusivity clauses and a small initial payment, although she did not disclose the amount.
A contract seen last year by the ABC indicated FFI would pay landowners $8,000-$12,000 per 5MW turbine per year, for at least 30 years, but Ms Schweizer did not say if that offer remained on the table.
Mr Grace said the state government should be playing a much bigger role in working through negotiations around green hydrogen projects with communities, given the industry’s potential to shift identities of entire regions.
While he believed the green hydrogen transition needed to happen, he said that should not prevent the government working to minimise negative social and environmental impacts.
“The world definitely needs green hydrogen,” he said.
“Whether it can happen as fast as FFI aspire? I’m not so sure.”
WA Hydrogen Industry Minister Roger Cook has been contacted for comment.