ABEL Energy reveals plans for $1.7bn Townsville Powerfuels renewables project
Townsville will host a new $1.7bn green energy project using waste biomass to create hundreds of jobs and a future fuel. See how the city will benefit.
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Townsville’s location has played a key role in a company’s proposal to build a $1.7bn manufacturing facility for export and supply of green methanol through the Port of Townsville, generating hundreds of jobs.
ABEL Energy, an Australian green hydrogen and green methanol project developer, plans to replicate its flagship Tasmanian project Bell Bay Powerfuels, in Townsville.
The company is considering two locations – Cape Cleveland or the Lansdown Eco-Industrial precinct – to build the Townsville Powerfuels plants that would produce 300,000t of green methanol annually to be trucked or piped to a storage and loading facility at the Port of Townsville, worth an estimated $200m.
ABEL Energy director commercial Simon Talbot said the project would create 500 construction jobs and 300 ongoing, indirect, and trade roles.
Allowing a year for the permitting process, another year for engineering design, and two years for construction, they aimed for production to commence by the first quarter of 2029 – to fulfil big shipping orders already in place.
Mr Talbot said they spent the past five years looking for locations in the “sweet spot”, with access to a port, where biomass, water, and renewable energy were available.
They intend to harness North Queensland’s biomass waste, like sugar cane tops and trash and agricultural waste, that weren’t used in food production, to create a new revenue stream for growers.
“The tropics are great because things grow quickly and there’s around 4 million tons of biomass that’s currently not fully utilised around the greater Townsville area,” Mr Talbot said.
“In the shipping sector there’s over 250 boats converted to green methanol, and the cruise industry is going to go next, then the aviation sector will go next … and probably defence to have future fuel.”
He foresaw Townsville becoming a future destination for cruise ships to refuel, bringing with them thousands of visitors in an economic windfall for the city.
A key milestone in the project was celebrated at the Quayside Terminal on Thursday when ABEL Energy CEO Michael van Baarleand Port of Townsville CEO Ranee Crosby signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
The MOU outlines a collaborative effort to undertake comprehensive investigations to assess the feasibility of the proposed project.
Early investigations will include market assessment and analysis, identifying infrastructure and logistic requirements and working cooperatively to advance the project.
Port of Townsville CEO Ranee Crosby said the proposed project aligned with the port’s commitment to supporting sustainable energy projects, reinforcing its position as a “key facilitator of trade and economic growth”.
“The world’s shipping industry is facing enormous change as it seeks to decarbonise fleets globally,” Ms Crosby said
“ABEL Energy’s project presents an exciting opportunity to provide green methanol marine bunkering facilities at the Port of Townsville, as well as exporting renewable energy to global markets.”
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Originally published as ABEL Energy reveals plans for $1.7bn Townsville Powerfuels renewables project
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