Bp Takes Control Of AREH – Australia’s Largest Renewables Project

Global energy conglomerate bp has now officially taken over the operations at the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) – which is the largest renewable energy project in Australia – after it has acquired a 40.5 per cent equity stake in AREH. Situated in the Pilbara, Western Australia, bp held that the RE hub has potential to emerge as one of the largest generators of green electricity and green hydrogen in the world.

The project will be producing onshore wind and solar power to further the cause of green energy production in different stages. The project will also see the production of green hydrogen and ammonia for the industry in the locality and mines. The product will also be exported to major markets globally.

AREH is expected to have a total generation capacity of 26 GW. When operational at full scale, the total power produced will be equal to about 1.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen every year. This also equates to about 9 million tonnes of green ammonia annually.

bp held that AREH has the potential to abate about 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be produced in the domestic and and export markets every year. Even this equates to about half-a-gigatonne of carbon savings over the lifetime of the project.

Bp has also informed that the agreement remains subject to regulatory approval and an indigenous land use agreement with Nyangumarta, the local people.

Lucy Nation, Project Director and VP of Hydrogen in AsiaPac, bp, 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.”

She said, “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.”

Nation also mentioned that it is key that bp put the views of the Nyangumarta Traditional Owners at the centre of how the AREH project is planned and developed.

Naming Issue

bp wanted to name the project project as ‘The Australian Renewable Energy Hub’ initially in collaboration with InterContinental Energy, CWP Global, Macquarie Capital and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.

Lucy Nation said, “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.”

She mentioned, “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.”