Australia’s Woodside is looking to supply 50 MW of solar energy to its Pluto LNG export facility on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula.
The LNG firm said on Thursday it aims to supply the solar power from the proposed Woodside power project, which could comprise more than 210,000 solar panels, making it one of the largest solar projects in Western Australia.
Woodside has undertaken a range of environmental, geotechnical and engineering studies and is progressing key stakeholder consultations ahead of seeking regulatory approvals for the power project.
Woodside acting CEO Meg O’Neill said, “Western Australia is uniquely placed to capitalise on the state’s world-class renewable energy resources and the willingness of industry, government and other key stakeholders to cooperate on new energy opportunities.”
“Woodside’s vision is for large-scale supply of renewable energy to existing and future industry on the Burrup Peninsula,” she said.
“Our work with Perdaman is another demonstration of the important role the gas industry can play in driving the energy transition and achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” she said.
Perdaman urea facility
Woodside and Perdaman will work on evaluating the supply of a further 50 MW of solar power from the Woodside power project to the latter’s proposed urea facility.
Perdaman estimates incorporating solar power would reduce Perdaman’s fuel gas consumption by about 50% while reducing emissions by at least 200,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year, over 20 years.
In addtion, the initiative would also allow Perdaman to increase production of ammonia, which produces zero emissions at the point of use.
Perdaman chairman Vikas Rambal said, “the initiative is strategically in line with Perdaman’s commitments to greenhouse gas management and carbon neutrality by 2050.”
“This exciting initiative with Woodside will further enhance the manufacturing of blue ammonia for supply to the Asian market and help position Western Australia as a first mover in implementing renewable energy in a world-scale downstream industry,” he said.