Pollination, an Australian clean energy investment company, plans to partner with traditional landowners in Western Australia to build a massive solar farm that will be one of Australia's largest solar projects to date. The solar farm is part of the East Kimberley Clean Energy Project, which aims to build a gigawatt scale green hydrogen and ammonia production site in the northwest region of the country.
Australia's largest solar farm is set to be born
The project is expected to begin operations in 2028 and will be planned, created and managed by Australian Indigenous Clean Energy (ACE) Partners. The partnership company is equitably owned by the traditional owners of the land on which the project is located.
The first phase of the East Kimberley Clean Energy project will see the construction of a 900MW solar farm, more than double the size of solar projects already built in Australia. At the same time, a plant with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons of green hydrogen will also be built on MG Corp. free land near Kununurra.
To produce green hydrogen, the project will use fresh water from Lake Kununurra and water energy from the Ord hydropower station at Lake Argyle, combined with solar power, which will then be delivered via a new pipeline to the port of Wyndham, a "ready for export" port. At the port, green hydrogen will be converted into green ammonia. Approximately 250,000 tonnes of green ammonia are expected to be produced annually to supply the fertiliser and explosives industries in both domestic and export markets.
East Kimberley Clean Energy Project
The feasibility and funding of the project have not yet been finalized, but construction is expected to begin in late 2025 and production of green hydrogen in late 2028. The concept for the project has been scoped and a 12-month feasibility study for environmental, engineering and approval work will commence.
In the face of growing global demand for renewable energy, Australia is actively pursuing opportunities to transform its unique natural resources into clean energy. The implementation of the East Kimberley Clean Energy Project will provide the country with an innovative demonstration project to advance its leadership in the renewable energy sector and make an important contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ensuring equity and development in the renewable energy transition
What is unique about this project is that traditional landowners are directly involved and share a stake in ACE with companies such as Pollination. This first-of-its-kind partnership provides a model for future infrastructure projects in Australia, ensuring that traditional landowners can benefit from the scale and speed of the renewable energy transition.
MG Corp., an organization of traditional landowners, represents the people of Miriuwung and Gajerron, as well as Balanggarra Aboriginal Corp. And the Kimberley Land Commission will each hold 25% of ACE's shares. This partnership model not only helps mitigate the risks associated with land use agreements and approvals, but also offers more attractive prospects for investors.
The success of the East Kimberley Clean Energy Project will set a new path for Australia's clean energy future. Capitalising on the region's natural strengths and existing energy and port infrastructure, it will be a major clean energy export hub, contributing to Australia's and the region's efforts to reduce emissions, fostering new industries and ensuring traditional landowners and local residents are shareholders of interest.
