Western Australia issues new policy for renewable hydrogen
The Western Australian (WA) government on December 6 said it is providing “certainty and clarity” to large-scale hydrogen proponents looking to access or use Crown land, with the release of a new policy and guidance.
Hydrogen industry minister Alannah MacTiernan shared the policy and guidance with industry stakeholders at the Australian Hydrogen Conference (West) 2022.
As WA's renewable hydrogen industry continues to grow, the WA government anticipates that access to Crown land will only increase.
Proponents of large-scale hydrogen projects need to consider a number of factors when developing a proposal, including the existing land tenure over the site being proposed, the underlying interest holders of the land, including native title rights and interests, the various stakeholders with an interest in the site, and the legislative framework for gaining short and long-term access to the site.
“The Guidance for Land Tenure for Large Scale Renewable Hydrogen Projects outlines the WA government's preference that where more than one project proponent has an interest in the same area of Crown land, those project proponents and any existing interest holders co-exist,” the government said.
“Co-existing can include sharing the same land at the same time or facilitating sequential uses of the same land. Agreement to co-exist will involve good faith and best endeavours negotiations and agreement making based on the development of ongoing working relationships,” it added.
The Policy for Consideration of Highest and Best Use sets out the process for managing situations where negotiations do not lead to a co-existence arrangement between new competing projects proposed for the same area of land.
The policy includes a criteria that will be used to assess whether a project will deliver the highest and best use of the relevant Crown land.
The documents also provide practical guidance for renewable hydrogen proponents seeking early access to the Crown land to complete on-site feasibility and geotechnical studies. Recognising the costs of developing projects, exclusive S91 licences will be possible, the state government said.
When considering granting a single proponent licence for access for investigations (to the exclusion of other hydrogen proponents only), the guidance allows for a maximum area for exclusivity of 12,000 km2 but with flexibility if a justifiable reason is provided, and a maximum period for exclusive licences of two years plus a two-year extension.