Twiggy Forrest wants to invest here but Tassie dragging it feet

Mining magnate politely tells Tasmanian Government to pull its finger out if it wants him to invest in a hydrogen plant at Bell Bay. LATEST >>

A DECISION to build a $1b hydrogen plant in Queensland has not dulled Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s drive to invest even more in a plant at Tasmania’s Bell Bay.

But the mining magnate says he wants to do that sooner rather than later and the ball is firmly in the State Government’s court to get things moving.

Dr Forrest has long said Tasmania could be global leader in green hydrogen and part of his clean energy dream to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030.

On Sunday the Fortescue Metals Group boss announced his company would build a $1b plant in Gladstone to make electrolysers that extract hydrogen from water.

Dr Forrest said it would be built in a large industrial area the Queensland Government wanted to see go green.

Twiggy Forrest. Supplied 18.10.20

He also said the Queensland Government had made the deal attractive and been quick to support his plans.

At the same time, Dr Forrest has been assessing a project to build a 250-megawatt green hydrogen facility at Bell Bay.

And on Tuesday morning he told ABC Radio his massive investment in Tasmania was still on the table but our government needed to get on with the job of providing him with power.

“The government is working hard to get us the power and I encourage it to keep power in Tasmania rather than sent it to Victoria,” he said.

“At this stage the government is aware of the scale of the opportunity and know I am serious about my investment.

“I have been waiting for an answer for a while now. It has been very slow and there are other opportunities in other parts of Australia.”

Dr Forrest said the ball was now firmly in the Tasmanian Government's court.

“I wanted the first announcement to be made in Tasmania but that opportunity has now passed.”

Aerials of the Tamar Valley in Northern Tasmania, site of the proposed Gunns pulp mill: The heavy industrial area of Bell Bay, near where the pulp mill would be constructed and showing a rival woodchip mill. Behind is George Town and the mouth of the Tamar River.

The plant would need 1200 Bell Bay’s to reach its 300-gigawatt target.

A Hydro Tasmania spokesman said Dr Forrest’s comments related to the manufacturing of hydrogen electrolysers in Queensland and not to the production of hydrogen itself.

“Tasmania’s renewable energy resources continue to make the production of ‘green’ hydrogen an attractive option for investment and a number of parties are currently pursuing feasibility assessments,” the spokesman said.

“Hydro Tasmania is having ongoing discussions with FFI as well as other proponents, which are commercial in confidence. The nature of these discussions is quite complex and our intention, as always, is to help achieve the best possible outcome for Tasmanians.”