WA Indigenous groups to jointly develop Australia’s largest solar farm for hydrogen production

The development plan comes amid soaring global interest in hydrogen, but the Indigenous groups say they want control and not royalties.

Indigenous communities in Western Australia are targeting developing Australia’s largest solar farm to produce green hydrogen, after they struck a partnership deal with a carbon advisory group.

Traditional land owners, MG Corporation and Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, will join the Kimberley Land Council and carbon advisory company, Pollination, to develop a 900MW solar farm to produce 50,000 tonnes a year of hydrogen at a new facility in Kununurra in Western Australia. Once produced, the hydrogen will then be piped to the existing Port of Wyndham.

Should the plan eventuate, it would be a major boost to Australia’s energy transition needs, while also providing significant economic benefits to the local Indigenous population.

Rob Grant, head of projects at Pollination, said the region is perfectly positioned to drive Australia’s energy future.

“It leverages the natural advantages and existing energy and port infrastructure already in place in the Kimberley region to create a major new clean energy export hub that will help Australia and our region decarbonise, grow new industries and ensure traditional owners and local residents are shareholders, not just stakeholders, in the benefits,” Mr Grant said.

Hydrogen is a growing play, especially in Western Australia – which has the vast land needed to house solar projects needed to power the electrolysis process that creates hydrogen by splitting water.

Electrolysis requires significant renewable energy generation, but WA and the Northern Territory have ample sunlight that could be harnessed.

A growing number of foreign and local investors are exploring developments in WA, but they will need to strike agreements with landowners similar to onshore gas projects.

These traditional fossil fuel projects have been criticised for not returning significant returns to local Indigenous communities, which this new proposal would overcome.

Lawford Benning, executive chair of the MG Corporation, said the arrangement marked a new way for renewable energy resource projects to provide for Indigenous people.

“A focus on First Nations economic empowerment has led groups likes ours to reject the historic passive engagement model of receiving royalties for agreeing to give up control of our lands,” Mr Benning said.

Mr Grant said work on the project is well advanced, but further scoping and capital raising will be needed. Should the project successfully complete these stages, construction could begin in 2025, with first production targeted for 2028.

Mr Grant did not specify how much capital would be required to develop the project.