Petroleum company bp has completed the acquisition of a 40.5% equity stake and commenced operatorship of the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The AREH has the potential to be one of the largest renewable and green hydrogen hubs in the world, with a plan to supply renewable power and green hydrogen and ammonia to miners and industrial users in the Pilbara, and for export to major international markets.
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Subject to regulatory approvals and entering an Indigenous land use agreement with the Nyangumarta People based on the principle of free, prior and informed consent, the project plans to deliver onshore wind and solar power generation to produce green energy and produce hydrogen and ammonia. Developed in multiple phases, the project will deliver a total generating capacity of 26GW—which is the equivalent of around a third of all electricity generated in Australia in 2020.
bp project director and vice president of hydrogen in Asia Pacific Lucy Nation said, “We’re excited to take the next step forward with AREH and work closely with our project partners, community representatives and regulators to better understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the project.
“Our first priority is to make sure we are working closely with the Nyangumarta People, the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land on which we plan to develop the AREH.”
“It is key that we put the views of the Nyangumarta Traditional Owners at the centre of how the AREH project is planned and developed.”
The AREH project offers a major decarbonisation opportunity for the Pilbara, an industrial region identified for having significant potential for emissions reductions through the greening of iron ore mining and processing, green steel production, diesel fuel displacement and potential use and bunkering of green shipping fuels at Port Hedland.
In completing the deal, bp and its project partners InterContinental Energy, CWP Global, Macquarie Capital and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group intend to rename the project to the Australian Renewable Energy Hub.
Nation added, “We thought carefully about the project name, and decided we wanted to better reflect its prime location and showcase Australia’s natural assets, as well as the country’s aspiration to become a renewable energy superpower.
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“We want to provide green power to the Pilbara, as well as harness Western Australia’s fantastic renewable energy to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia for local and international use.”
At full scale, AREH is expected to be capable of producing around 1.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen or 9 million tonnes of green ammonia, per annum and abate around 17 million tonnes of carbon in domestic and export markets annually, which would equate to roughly 0.5Gt of carbon savings over the lifetime of the project.
