By Eileen Whitehead
The State governments potentially lead the way towards zero carbon by 2030.
The Western Australian government has joined with the governments of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria and Queensland and 11 other major entities as Founding Partners in the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme in order to invest in the production of green hydrogen.
The eleven partners are the Ammonia Energy Association, COP26 High Level Champions for Climate Action, CWP Global, Energy Web, HydroREC, Power Ledger, Star Scientific, Yara, Evoenergy, CT Renewables Hub, and Gasbot.
The Zero Carbon Certification Scheme strives to certify all renewable hydrogen, renewable ammonia, renewable metals projects, and to account for derivative products.
The scheme will assess the embedded carbon content of the products to ensure that renewable production is maintained and becomes the primary form of production. It will only consider those products which are created with renewable energy, guaranteeing that the carbon content is kept below an agreed standard.
Although in the initial stages of the scheme allowance will be made for LGC/REC certifications to be used to fulfil the criteria of the scheme, this allowance will be periodically revised to review the impact of potential greenwashing.
The first project to be certified under the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme was ActewAGL’s hydrogen refuelling station in Fyshwick, Canberra, which will be Australia’s first public hydrogen refuelling station.
The ACT government plans to use the station to service Australia’s first government fleet of 20 hydrogen vehicles whilst continuing to transition 100 per cent of its passenger fleet to zero emissions vehicles.
Hydrogen Australia appointed a Clean Energy Regulator approved greenhouse auditor Point Advisory, to certify the refuelling station, which gained the tick of approval in August 2021, and the next in line for certification will be Yara’s ARENA-funded renewable ammonia project in the Pilbara.
Yara’s Pilbara fertiliser plant is one of the largest ammonia production sites in the world and exports ammonia to domestic and global markets.
Are you confused by the concepts of grey, blue and green Hydrogen? For explanations, see:
The Colours of Hydrogen: How clean hydrogen is depends upon how it is made.
What’s the Difference Between Gray, Blue, and Green Hydrogen? (jdpower.com)
While the Western Australian government’s participation in this scheme is commendable, the government needs to walk the talk when it comes to getting to net zero emissions as fast as possible.
Under the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme the McGowan government will consider products which are created with renewable energy, while championing Woodside’s dirty grey hydrogen hub in Kwinana.
Woodside tout that gas from their new Scarborough gas field will be “blue hydrogen” but the fact is that they will use carbon off-sets rather than capture their greenhouse gas emissions!
The McGowan government needs to maintain its integrity by not supporting Woodside to emit 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide throughout its proposed new gas project. To join the movement to stop Scarborough gas, please click on the button below.
