Ark Energy to build 3 GW renewable energy hub in Australia

International metals group Korea Zinc’s Australian subsidiary Ark Energy has announced it will build 3 GW of renewable energy generation in north Queensland as part of plans to produce more than 1 million tonnes of green ammonia per annum for export by 2032.

Most of the green ammonia to be produced by the Collinsville Green Energy Hub is expected to be absorbed by the consortium members. “Our partners and our parent company are major players in Korea’s hydrogen economy and have a forecast demand for more than 2 million tonnes of green ammonia per annum from 2030,” Kim said.

The consortium aims to make a final investment decision in 2027 or 2028, with construction expected to take about four years, Kim said. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the signing of the MOU is another step forward in the state’s quest to be a hydrogen powerhouse.

“We welcome this major new consortium to Queensland, to accelerate progress in our green hydrogen industry and advance green energy exports to Korea,” she said. “What you’ll be seeing over the coming decade is large renewable precincts developing in regional Queensland, that is an indisputable fact.”

The announcement of the proposed 3 GW Collinsville Green Energy Hub is the latest move from Ark Energy which has quickly established itself since its launch in January 2021.

Earlier this year, Ark Energy completed its purchase of Sydney-based renewable energy developer Epuron Holdings in a deal that gives it access to a potential 9 GW pipeline of utility scale wind and solar PV projects.

The buyout of Eporon followed the acquisition of a 30% stake in Acciona Energy’s 923 MW MacIntryre Wind Farm in Queensland which is scheduled to be fully operational by 2024.

Ark Energy is also pursuing plans to develop a renewable hydrogen facility at parent company Korea Zinc’s Sun Metals zinc refinery in Townsville. The SunHQ hydrogen hub, which will be equipped with a 1 MW electrolyzer, is expected to produce about 158 tonnes of green hydrogen per annum, powered by renewable energy from the 124 MW Sun Metals Solar Farm located next to the refinery.