Australian green hydrogen gets boost from new law
The prospect of more hydrogen projects in Australia powered from renewable energy sources has received a boost with the passing of legislation in the Australian senate to oversee the development of the country's offshore wind industry.
Australia's southern coastline, where many hydrogen projects are located, has some of the strongest wind resources in the country.
The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 passed the Australian senate on 25 November, having already passed the lower house of parliament in October and is now passed into law.
"This legislation will accelerate a number of key projects already under development - projects that include the Star of the South, Sun Cable, and the Marinus Link transmission line, which will connect the mainland to Tasmania's Battery of the Nation project," Australian energy minister Angus Taylor said in a statement.
The 2,200MW Star of the South wind project in the Gippsland basin offshore Victoria, which could provide power to the proposed hydrogen hub in the La Trobe Valley in eastern Victoria under Canberra's hydrogen strategy.
Australia is seeking more renewable energy capacity to produce hydrogen, known as green hydrogen, if it comes from renewable sources.
Australia could start producing hydrogen from grid-connected electrolysers in the July 2024-June 2025 fiscal year and could ramp up output enough to meet 17pc of total power demand within five years under a hydrogen superpower scenario, said the operator of Australia's power and gas markets the Australian Energy Market Operator.
Tasmania, which has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions among Australia's six states, has attracted several green hydrogen project developers seeking to gain leverage from the state's renewable energy sector, which generates almost 100pc of the state's power from hydro and wind resources.
Australian independent Woodside Petroleum said earlier this month that it planned to make a final investment decision in 2023 on its proposed H2TAS hydrogen plant at Bell Bay in Tasmania. The initial phase of H2TAS will target 200,000 t/yr of ammonia from hydropower and wind sources for export, as well as hydrogen made from renewable energy for domestic use. The initial phase would have capacity of up to 300MW of electricity, with the project having the potential to scale up to 1,700MW of renewable energy.
The legislation will also the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator act as the regulator and registrar respectively of the offshore wind sector.
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Mexico City, 18 April (Argus) — Mexico installed just 96MW of wind power capacity in 2023, a new low amid President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's policy to limit private sector development. Last year's wind power capacity additions were down by 93pc from the 1,281MW installed during Lopez Obrador's first full year in office in 2019, according to the Global Wind Report 2024 published by the Global Wind Energy Council. New wind power additions were also down by 39pc from the 158MW installed in 2022. Lopez Obrador's statist energy policy has sought to claw back state-owned utility CFE's market position in the face of an enormous private sector clean energy build out launched during the previous administration. Between 2016 and 2018 CFE held three long-term power auctions, contracting 7,000MW of new renewable energy projects as the government made a push to decarbonize Mexico's power matrix. But Lopez Obrador ruled out further auctions and has actively curtailed the award of new generation permits, stalling the development of 5,800MW of wind projects, according to wind energy association Amdee. Mexico has 7,413MW of installed wind capacity, accounting for 8.2pc of the country's 89,890MW total installed generation capacity, according to the energy ministry. Despite the slowed pace in Mexico, new wind installation continued to grow in Latin America last year, led by Brazil with 4.8GW to bring total onshore capacity in the country to 30.4GW in 2023. GWEC expects 28.7GW of new wind capacity in Latin America over the next five years, on top of the 50.6GW of current capacity. Globally 117GW of new wind energy capacity was installed last year, up by 50pc on the previous year and a new record. GWEC expects global wind capacity to double to 2TW by 2030, as governments agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity at the climate talks in Dubai last year. The outlook for Mexican wind power also looks more positive with both presidential candidates in the 2 June election committed to accelerating the energy transition through the build out of new clean energy capacity. Governing party candidate and current frontrunner Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to make renewable energy a "hallmark" of her administration and committed this week to investing $13.6bn in clean energy projects if elected. By Rebecca Conan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canada furthers investment in GHG reductions
Canada furthers investment in GHG reductions
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Australia’s Queensland legislates emissions targets
Australia’s Queensland legislates emissions targets
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Sheinbaum pledges $13bn for Mexican energy transition
Sheinbaum pledges $13bn for Mexican energy transition
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