The Carbon Loop #001
Hydrogen Strategies, GHG Regulations, and the Prettiest Form of DAC ..
Hello and welcome to the first issue of The Carbon Loop - a newsletter by the CCUSNA dedicated to highlighting the Australian carbon capture, utilisation and storage industry.
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And now, let’s get onto the very first issue of The Carbon Loop.
The CCUSNA is hosting its first in-person event on 8 October at 5.00pm at the Shoe Bar in Perth.
Come along for a presentation by Ross Weiter, Principal Consultant at Worley, on best practices in the planning and engineering of CO2 import facilities.
Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy ..
Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water released its National Hydrogen Strategy this month, and it seems clear the Federal Government’s focus is still on pushing renewable ‘green’ hydrogen technologies. Across the 104 page document, references to CCS technology or ‘blue’ hydrogen come up just a handful of times.
The best snippet is set out below -
Hydrogen production is expected to predominantly follow the electrolysis pathway using renewable electricity, although steam methane reforming, with CCS, may play a role during the initial phase of industry growth.
Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy — DCCEEW
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WA’s Domestic Gas Policy Supports CCS Industry ..
In contrast, on behalf of the WA Government, the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation released its response to the recent Parliamentary Inquiry on domestic gas policy with a much more positive statement on the use of CCS technologies enabling a low-carbon or ‘blue’ hydrogen supply.
Inquiry Recommendation 24:
That the State Government examine the costs and benefits associated with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) with a view to determining how this technology might feature in a future WA Domestic Gas Security Policy.
Government Response:
Supported.
The Western Australian Government supports the role of Carbon Capture and Storage in the State’s energy transition and will continue to facilitate CCS projects.
WA Domestic Gas Policy: response to Parliamentary Inquiry
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Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act ..
This month the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety held its first technical workshops supporting the proposed regulations underpinning WA’s greenhouse gas regulations.
DEMIRS was keen to receive feedback on (1) Adaptive risk management and monitoring; (2) Risk-based monitoring plans; and (3) Whether the approvals sequencing under the current Commonwealth regulations would be appropriate for WA GHG Injection and Storage Regulations.
Should you have any queries regarding these technical workshops or wish to send feedback, please contact the CCUSNA Chairperson (by email to chair@ccusna.com.au - hopefully by next issue I can figure out how to make this a button..) and she can collate and pass along your comments.
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CCUSNA meets with Josh Wilson MP, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy ..
The CCUSNA met with the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mr Josh Wilson MP, on 24th September to discuss the role of CCUS in Australia, especially for the hard to abate industries.
We introduced the CCUS Network Australia as a body that seeks to bring together all parts of the CCUS value chain in Australia, to foster collaboration and innovation. We discussed the role of CCS in low carbon hydrogen (how blue hydrogen can enable the growth of the green hydrogen sector) and gave the Minister an update on the potential impacts of the recent Queensland decision on CCS.
We also discussed the role of government in the roll out of CCS through policy certainty and public communication of the importance of CCUS to achieve Australia’s decarbonisation goals.
The CCUSNA aims to hold a follow up meeting with the Assistant Minister in coming months.
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Location, Location, Sequestration ..
It’s not quite traditional CCUS content, but go with me on this one..
Have property prices got you down? Looking for a tree-change with a side of carbon reduction? Why not uproot your life and purchase rural property with carbon sequestration potential?
Climate change: 10 Australian farms for sale poised for carbon sequestration projects
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