Photo by Paolo Toscani, Dreamstime
View of the coast of Western Australia

Companies Partner with Indigenous Australians on Hybrid Wind, Solar Project

July 29, 2021
Project partners say energy hub could be a new model for developing energy projects with Indigenous people

An international consortium comprised of InterContinental Energy, CWP Global and Mirning Green Energy Limited, is planning an integrated green fuels mega project in the South-East of Western Australia.

When fully operational, the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH) could produce up to 50 GW of hybrid wind and solar power over 15,000-square-kilometres in South-East Western Australia, across the Shires of Dundas and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

The region provides an optimal diurnal profile for renewable energy, with consistently high levels of wind and solar energy over a 24-hour period. WGEH will be built in phases to produce up to 3.5 million tons of zero-carbon green hydrogen or 20 million tons of green ammonia each year, which will be provided domestically and exported internationally as the green fuels market continues to expand post 2030.

The project will deliver significant socio-economic benefits to the local community, as well as provide a huge boost to the Western Australia State Government’s Renewable Hydrogen Strategy and the Commonwealth Government of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy. Green fuels produced at the site will meet massive future demand from multiple sectors, including in cofiring in power generation, the shipping sector, heavy industry such as steel, chemicals and mining, as well as the aviation sector. The green hydrogen sector is predicted to become a US$2.5 trillion market by 2050.

In addition, WGEH will define a new model for natural resource and energy companies to partner with First Nations Land Owners. This is because Mirning Green Energy Limited, a unit of the Mirning Traditional Lands Aboriginal Corporation, will have a meaningful carried equity stake in the Project, together with a permanent seat on the WGEH Consortium Board.

WGEH will be developed with complete respect for the Mirning community and its heritage in the area, with specific corporate governance requirements in this regard built into the WGEH Corporate Charter.

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