The Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH) will advance to its next phase following approval from the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The renewables and hydrogen production project will now undertake a Public Environmental Review (PER), which, as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) progresses, is expected to ensure a “robust and transparent process” that includes opportunities for public and stakeholder input.
Several environmental factors have been identified by WGEH, with technical studies for some of them already commenced.
WGEH CEO, Dr. Ray Macdonald, claimed studies have begun to ensure the “investigations are thorough.” He added, “We have already spent considerable time on-country with traditional owners, environmental and cultural heritage team and we will now move into more targeted and advanced studies.
“The resulting information will continue to inform WGEH on species, ecosystems and other values that are protected or particularly sensitive.
“This in turn will guide our primary avoidance strategy, meaning related areas can be totally avoided and buffer zones introduced to ensure we have no physical overlay nor impact.”
The first stage of the hub, located close to Eucla, is planned to generate up to 6GW of wind and solar power to produce around 333,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. H2 View understands that the stage one final investment decision (FID) is scheduled for 2029.
When fully developed, the hub could produce around 3.5 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives each year. The WGEH initiative is anticipated to support key state and Federal government policies.
Dr. Macdonald explained, “The WGEH project aligns with both the State and Commonwealth hydrogen strategies and our prospects have been bolstered by the Australian government’s announcement of the AUD$22.7bn ‘Future Made in Australia’ initiative.”
Read more: Policy Pillar: Future Made in Australia ignites the nation’s hydrogen ambitions
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