FFI, Windlab to develop 10GW wind, solar Super Hub in Australia

The construction of the first stage is expected to begin in 2025.

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Windlab partnered to develop a Super Hub that could generate over 10 gigawatts of wind and solar energy and also support industrial-scale green hydrogen production in purpose-built facilities in Queensland.

In a joint statement, the companies said the first stage of the proposed projects in North-West Queensland includes the 800-megawatt (MW) Prairie Wind Farm and the 1,000MW Wongalee project.

The construction on the first stage is expected to start in 2025 and the projects to start producing power by 2027. The generated energy will produce green hydrogen and supply renewable power to the grid.

FFI and Windlab noted that green hydrogen is expected to decarbonise various sectors including transport, industrial and energy storage. Demand for hydrogen exportation from Australia is expected to be over three million tonnes annually by 2040, contributing $10b to the economy per year, they said, citing data from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

The production of industrial-scale green hydrogen, however, is facing challenges due to a lack of renewable supply to power the process of hydrogen extraction from water through electrification.

“For the first time, the North Queensland Super Hub will provide the quantity of renewable energy we need to support large-scale green hydrogen production right here in Queensland,” said FFI CEO Mark Hutchinson.

“The environmental and economic opportunities that can stem from this are significant, both in terms of lowering emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and in terms of local job creation,” he added.

Windlab CEO John Martin, meanwhile, said the facility will help realise the “strategic, scalable development plan” for the region’s untapped renewable energy base that will transform the country’s electricity market.

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