European Energy has made a major investment in the 3,600 MW Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project in Gladstone. The investment will accelerate the creation of a sustainable green hydrogen industry for regional Queensland.
‘It is one of the biggest projects that we or anyone in the world have undertaken,’ says Thorvald Spanggaard, Executive Vice President, European Energy and Head of Project Development.
‘We believe it is feasible and realistic to realise this project in 2026. [This is] not least because of the willingness of the local authorities in Australia to see the possibilities of moving ahead on the green transition and become a key exporter of the fuel of tomorrow.’
Supporting Australia’s transition to clean energy
European Energy is a Danish developer of solar and wind farms and Power-to-X (PtX) solutions. It has developed and built almost 4 GW of renewable energy in 26 countries.
The company acquired a majority stake in Australian enterprise Austrom Hydrogen in late 2022. Austrom has the rights to 4 renewable sites covering 6,000 hectares. The combined solar farm and battery facility will be built on this land. The solar farm will use existing and new infrastructure to get green electricity to the hydrogen manufacture site.
European Energy will undertake the development work and manage the grid process. When complete, the project is expected to produce over 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year.
The project will:
- create new jobs for the renewable energy workforce in Queensland and across Australia
- ensure ongoing community and local commitment to renewable energy
- support Australia’s low-emissions technology future.
Green economy investment opportunities
Australia offers strong opportunities for investors, including in clean energy, renewables, microgrids and storage solutions, and future fuel technologies. The Australian Government has committed almost A$25 billion to clean energy spending, including funding for investment projects.
Several global renewables companies have projects in Australia.
They include:
- Italy’s Enel Green Power (3 solar plants and 309 MW of installed capacity)
- France’s ENGIE and Japan’s Mitsui (A$87 million renewable hydrogen project in Western Australia)
- The UK’s Lightsource bp (5 major solar projects in 3 states)
- France’s Neoen (14 large-scale renewable energy projects, A$3 billion invested to date)
- Japan’s Sojitz Corporation (204 MW Edenvale Solar Park in Queensland).
Find out more about Australia’s clean energy and renewables sector.
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