Australia-based Woodside Vitality has crushed Fortescue Future Industries for the chance to ship the proposed 600 MW Southern Inexperienced Hydrogen megaproject in New Zealand. It can produce inexperienced hydrogen for export utilizing energy from associate Meridian Vitality’s hydroelectric plant.
from Australia’s pv journal
Meridian Vitality has chosen Australian-headquartered Woodside Vitality as its most well-liked associate to ship its proposed $3 billion Southern Inexperienced Hydrogen challenge on the southernmost tip of New Zealand. The choice comes after an inventory of 80 corporations was narrowed down to 2.
Meridian additionally introduced that its three way partnership associate, Contact Vitality, had withdrawn from the challenge. The rationale for the withdrawal was not given, with Meridian merely saying in an announcement that Contact Vitality has determined to not proceed with the following part of the challenge as a improvement associate, though it is going to stay a possible electrical energy provider.
Meridian mentioned Mitsui. & Co. – which boasts the most important share of ammonia imports to Japan – can also be at the moment in discussions to hitch the challenge.
The proposal now strikes to the ultimate stage of the funding resolution. Then, topic to the finalization of business preparations, Meridian, Woodside, and Mitsui will work towards starting front-end engineering design for the challenge.
Extra advantages
First proposed in June 2021, the Southern Inexperienced Hydrogen challenge seeks to discover the chance to supply inexperienced hydrogen within the Southland following the announcement that Rio Tinto will shut its Tiwai Level aluminum smelter, primarily powered by a Meridian hydroelectric plant
The imaginative and prescient is to construct a 600 MW facility that may use energy from Meridian’s Manapouri hydro scheme to energy hydrogen electrolyzers, concentrating on an annual manufacturing of 500,000 tons of ammonia.
“We hope the power may have the additional benefit of offering as much as 40% of the dry 12 months flexibility New Zealand wants within the electrical energy sector,” mentioned Meridian Vitality CEO Neal Barclay.
Nonetheless, there are doubts in regards to the potential demand for ammonia megaprojects within the Asia-Pacific as Europe and the USA produce higher coverage environments.
pv journal print version
The subsequent print version of pv journal – due Tuesday – will go to Ukraine to evaluate the extent of the injury triggered to the nation’s power infrastructure, together with photo voltaic crops, and we are going to embody protection of how PV has been affected within the newly liberated area of Kherson.
Successful the challenge is undoubtedly essential for Woodside. The corporate has confronted sharp and renewed criticism over its Scarborough fuel challenge, a seamless supply of protest for the environmental group Greenpeace. Woodside is seeking to keep related via its transition to hydrogen, however particularly pursuing blue hydrogen (produced from fossil fuel) in addition to some inexperienced hydrogen via renewable power sources equivalent to hydro.
In June 2022, Woodside merged with BHP Petroleum, a deal that remodeled the corporate into one of many world’s largest oil and fuel majors.
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