Western Australia Allocates Land for $70 Billion Worth of Renewables-Related Projects

A 450 megawatt combined cycle gas-fired power station under construction in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, on March 5, 2010. Amy Coopes/AFP via Getty Images

The Western Australian (WA) government will allocate land to seven projects, mostly connected to renewable energy, with a $70 billion (US$48.5 billion) investment.

Land from the Boodarie and Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Areas (SIAs) will be allocated, according to a Jan. 6 WA government statement.

Specifically, Equus Energy, a subsidiary of Western Gas Corporation, and Fortescue Future Industries will be allotted land in the Ashburton North SIA, an 8,000-hectare industrial zone located around 1,100 kilometres north of Perth.

In addition, Korean steelmaker POSCO, Fortescue Metals Group, Alinta Energy, UK-based Tees Valley Lithium and global oil giant BP have received land approvals for their projects in the Boodarie SIA, which is close to Port Hedland–the home to the world’s largest bulk export port.

WA Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Roger Cook said the land allocations would help the two industrial zones compete globally.

“The projects across the two SIAs will deliver a range of projects, including ammonia, green iron ore, and hydrogen,” he said in a statement.

“From job creation to growing the local advanced manufacturing industry and servicing international markets, we will see the economic benefits of these land allocations and these projects flow through the WA economy over time.”

WA Lands Minister John Carey said the announcement was a major boost for regional towns such as Onslow, South Hedland and Port Hedland.

He added that the projects would help create jobs while strengthening and diversifying the WA economy.

Details of the Projects

Western Gas said its subsidiary Equus Energy would build a low-carbon ammonia and methanol manufacturing facility in the Ashburton North SIA.

The company also said Equus Energy planned to progressively reduce the facility’s carbon footprint and transition towards producing green fuels by combining renewable energy from solar and wind with the natural gas feedstock procured from its own gas project in WA.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that POSCO planned to use hydrogen to produce hot briquetted iron, a type of processed product formed by removing oxygen from iron ore into a briquette shape, in Western Australia.

The giant steel maker also had plans to invest US$40 billion in hydrogen and “green steel” projects in Australia by 2040.

A hydrogen liquefaction plant is pictured at the Leuna chemical park near Leuna, eastern Germany, on May 16, 2022. Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, oil producer BP secures land in the Boodarie SIA to get better access to Port Hedland and the $53 billion Australian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara.

In December 2022, BP acquired a 40.5 percent stake in the hub, which is said to have a generation capacity of 26 gigawatts of wind and solar energy when it is completed.

BP said the hub had the potential to be one of the largest renewable and green hydrogen hubs in the world.

The hub is also expected to supply renewable power and “green hydrogen” to miners and industrial companies in Pilbara and for export purposes.

Green Hydrogen Production and Lithium Sulphate Refinery

Iron ore producer Fortescue was allocated land at both the Boodarie and Ashburton North SIAs to proceed with its projects.

A Fortescue spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company would develop a “green products precinct” at Boodarie.

While the spokesperson did not elaborate on what specific green products would be manufactured, there was a possibility that Fortescue could produce and use green hydrogen at the facility.

“The precinct stands to be a key step towards establishing an integrated green products industry across the Pilbara, while also creating significant economic and employment opportunities for Western Australia,” the spokesperson said.

In early 2022, Fortescue, which has diversified into green hydrogen, announced plans for establishing a 5.4-gigawatt wind and solar facility to support its iron ore operations in Western Australia.

The project included 340 wind turbines and a significant number of solar panel arrays over a 25 square kilometre area in the Pilbara region and could also supply power to the Ashburton North SIA.

Meanwhile, Alinta Energy, which owns a gas-fired power station in Port Hedland, was also reported to consider producing green hydrogen at the Boodarie SIA.

Following the land allocation announcement, UK-based Tees Valley Lithium released a statement, saying it would build a lithium sulphate refinery at Boodarie.

In addition, Tees Valley Lithium director Sam Quinn said that the project would offer Australian spodumene (a pyroxene mineral s is a source of lithium) direct access to the European battery market via the company’s hydroxide refinery in Teesside, UK.

The construction of the facility is divided into four stages, with each stage providing additional production capacity.

When completed, the refinery will produce a total of 96,000 tonnes of lithium sulphate per year, which is around 15 percent of Europe’s forecasted demand by 2030.