Fortescue, Yara Pilbara highlight hurdles to renewable energy hub in WA

Miner Fortescue and manufacturer Yara Pilbara have laid bare the hurdles the state government and industry will have to overcome if Western Australia is to become a renewable energy hub, as a Labor MP aired frustrations with a lack of “meaningful action” on the energy transition.

Yara, a Norwegian fertiliser giant producing ammonia in the Pilbara, told the Smart Energy Council’s energy and clean exports summit its attempts to decarbonise had been stymied by its inability to source renewable energy at a competitive price.

Yara’s Pilbara ammonia plant consumed eight per cent of WA’s gas supply.Credit: Yara

Yara’s chief operating officer Laurent Trost insisted the company had the technology necessary to decarbonise its mammoth operation in Western Australia’s north-west, drastically reducing the 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ it emits annually.

But Trost said it needed economies of scale to make the numbers stack up, something he feared would take time WA did not have.

The company is building a 30,000-panel solar farm at a cost of almost $90 million to supply just 1 per cent of the green hydrogen its operation requires to slash emissions.

Trost said WA could be a leader in the emerging hydrogen industry, but that would require significant public and private investment, predictable regulatory conditions, and affordable renewable energy.

Fortescue’s green iron lead Richard Carcenac, who has been tasked with helping the Andrew Forrest-led company reach its ambitious target of producing 100 million tonnes of green iron used the summit to rubbish claims it had stepped back from so-called green hydrogen, separated from water using electrolysers to produce an emissions-free product.

But Carcenac said reaching its green iron target would require 8 million tonnes of green hydrogen and called for government support in the form of renewable energy targets and a green iron jobs strategy.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union state secretary Steve McCartney backed that call, warning investor confidence would be impacted if the government did not legislate a renewable energy target.

Member for Swan Hills Jessica Shaw told the summit her decision to vacate her seat was underpinned by her desire to focus on climate change and the energy transition.

Jessica Shaw.Credit: Facebook

“We have to achieve something that is truly gargantuan in scale. We have got to talk about this stuff, but we’ve actually got to start getting on with it,” she told the summit.

“I get frustrated about it, and I’ve decided not to run for parliament again in March because I’m sick of talking about it. We have to start taking meaningful action.”

Shaw called time on her political career in June after indicating it would be more effective for her to tackle the issues from outside the halls of parliament.

More than 40 per cent of the state’s emissions can be traced back to major industrial producers in the Pilbara, which is slated to play a central role in WA meeting emissions reductions targets.

Smart Energy Council chief executive Wayne Smith said the absence of a renewable energy target in WA was to blame for the state not benefiting from the investment seen on the eastern seaboard.

While acknowledging the WA government had made inroads via common user infrastructure in the Pilbara, Smith said it had to “put its foot down” to ensure the state was not left out of the global decarbonisation race.

Energy and Environment Minister Reece Whitby defended the government, highlighting it had more than doubled the amount of renewable energy in its main grid since it came to power in 2017 and was the only state on the path to ending coal-fired electricity generation by 2030.

Whitby said the government had allocated $5.4 billion to the energy transition and maintained its plan was working.

“We’re working with private industry on massive new renewable energy projects across the state, including major new wind energy projects,” he said.

“We’re building out our electricity grid across the regions, so we can connect more renewables to power our economy for the future, including decarbonising major industry in the north west.

“We’re committed to reducing government emissions by 80 per cent by 2030, and we’re committed to net zero emissions across the state by 2050.

“All of this will help us to unlock new opportunities in critical minerals processing, hydrogen and the clean energy industries of the future.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.