Having earmarked $593 million (USD 399.3 million) of public funding to build a green hydrogen power plant at Whyalla on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula, the South Australian (SA) government said organisations from around the world have put forward a total of 29 formal proposals to build the project.
The Whyalla hydrogen plant is to comprise a 250 MW green hydrogen production facility, a 200 MW hydrogen power plant and associated storage infrastructure capable of holding 3,600 tonnes of hydrogen. The government said the design and construction of the project will help “accelerate South Australia’s green hydrogen industry, unlock the development of a $20 billion pipeline of renewable energy projects and catalyse the creation of new jobs in the supply chain industries.”
Hydrogen Power SA, the government agency looking after the taxpayer-funded project, said it initially received about 60 expressions of interest last year to build the facility and that has converted into 29 formal proposals under a tender that closed last week.
The agency said it had received responses “from organisations across Europe, north and south America and the Asia Pacific, including here in Australia, seeking to help pioneer the green hydrogen industry in South Australia.”
“The proposals tendered included representations from major renewable energy companies, equipment manufacturers and technology providers,” the agency said.
The government process is focused on the supply, construction and operation of the hydrogen plant and equipment, along with offtake agreements for the green hydrogen produced at the facility.
Image: Hydrogen SA
Hydrogen Power SA said it will now undertake an evaluation of the proposals received and expects to announce the successful party by July with the green hydrogen power plant to be operational by December 2025.
South Australia Energy Minister Koutsantonis said the facility will play a major role in the establishing the state as a significant global player in green hydrogen production and give it an early advantage in the rapidly emerging space.
“As the world looks to decarbonise, South Australia is making a once-in-a-generation investment in green hydrogen, an investment that places the Upper Spencer Gulf region at the epicentre of a renewable energy revolution,” he said.
The government said it has already secured land options near Whyalla for the power plant and associated green hydrogen production and storage facilities. The sites are within a 15-kilometre radius to the northeast of the city and close to critical infrastructure and transport links.
The government said the scale of the sites allow for future expansion of the scope and size of operations.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.