By PHILIP HOPKINS
A BUSINESS case for Gippsland’s CarbonNet Project is set to be presented to the federal and state governments, the project’s chief, Jane Burton, told a major energy conference in Perth.
Ms Burton, the Director of CarbonNet, said the project was currently undertaking market soundings with a diverse range of stakeholders. These included customers, developers, contractors, equity, and debt investors to inform the commercial modelling, strategy and entity type for the project moving forward.
CarbonNet’s planned 100-kilometre pipeline from Loy Yang to the Gippsland Basin will enable multiple CO2 industrial capture projects to share CarbonNet’s infrastructure. Negotiations are continuing with landholders in South Gippsland potentially affected by the pipeline.
Ms Burton, who grew up in the Latrobe Valley, has worked in the commercial and public sectors for more than 30 years. She was previously Head of Resources for the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, was awarded the 2019 Most Exceptional Woman in Resources award and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy.
Ms Burton told the Energy Producers conference that CarbonNet began in 2009 when the Australian Prime Minister was Kevin Rudd and after the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period had begun in 2008. The Paris Agreement was still six years away.
Climate Change mitigation was becoming an urgent issue, and the federal government’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Flagship program was created to support to a variety of CO2 capture, transportation and storage demonstration projects, she said.
The aim of the program was to promote the use of CCS technology, demonstrate Australia’s storage resources, support trials, build capacity, and create links with existing international projects.
Ms Burton said CarbonNet, part of the original CCS Flagship program, had been funded by the federal government and Victorian state government since 2010.
“The value of CarbonNet, an early CCS hub concept, was the excellent geology in the Gippsland Basin and the close proximity of storage sites to the Latrobe Valley’s coal fired power stations,” she said.
A report in 2009 identified the offshore Gippsland Basin as having the highest quality and largest capacity CO2 storage reservoirs out of 25 major geological basins across Australia.
“This early thinking has since pivoted toward supporting new clean industries such as hydrogen, ammonia/fertiliser and biomass, and supporting the transition of a broad range of existing high emitters to low emissions technology, aided by drivers such as the safeguard mechanism.”
The safeguard mechanism regulates the greenhouse emissions of Australia’s biggest 215 companies.
Ms Burton said the project over 14 years had achieved many legislative and regulatory firsts, such as being awarded the first Australian greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment permit and obtaining approvals for multiple offshore investigations.
“This journey has helped to pave the way for current and future Australian CCS projects,” she said.
CarbonNet proposes to establish a commercial scale CCS hub that will enable new and existing decarbonised industries to contribute to legislated government targets, such as Victoria’s 2035 interim emissions reduction target and a net zero emissions outcome by 2045.
Ms Burton said CarbonNet manages two offshore GHG permits for sites in the Gippsland Basin – Pelican and Kookaburra.
“There is potential for CarbonNet to transport and store up to six million tonnes of CO2 per year at the initial Pelican site once fully operational. It will likely take up to three years to reach this level once CarbonNet is commissioned. Additional storage capacity will be available in future with expansion of the network to the Kookaburra site,” she said.
“Delivery of CarbonNet is anticipated to create jobs and investment relating both to the project and enabled industries such as hydrogen, ammonia/fertiliser and bioenergy. The project will also focus on future benefits for communities and landowners, including Traditional Owners in Gippsland.”
CarbonNet’s planned 100-kilometre pipeline from Loy Yang to the Gippsland Basin will consist of 80km of buried onshore pipeline, with about a further 20km offshore, reaching multiple drill centres at the Pelican site.
Ms Burton said regulatory approvals paved the way for consultations with potentially affected landowners in September 2023.
“The final proposed pipeline route will be confirmed through stakeholder engagement, field surveys and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) outcomes,” she said.
FEED was completed in February of this year.
“This significant project milestone has provided data that informs the Pelican development concept, including preliminary cost estimate, material specifications and the construction timeline, as well as providing input into approvals documentation and procurement of long lead equipment,” she said.
“The project is currently progressing the primary regulatory approvals for the Pelican storage site to achieve the required injection licence. The environmental approvals process is anticipated to take several years. A comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement process, in line with government guidelines, will accompany the approvals program.”
Ms Burton said CarbonNet, well known across the CCS industry and academia, was well understood in Gippsland and supported across local governments, industry groups such as Committee for Gippsland and local industry.
“The regional traditional owners (GLaWAC – Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation) are a key stakeholder, this relationship will soon expand with the development of the project’s cultural heritage management plan,” she said.
Research showed that CarbonNet had 64 per cent community awareness in Gippsland. The engineering aspect of the project interested local Gippsland males (largely ex-energy workers) with this group registering 79 per cent CCS awareness.
“The female cohort focused on safety and expediting climate change mitigation to ensure a healthy future for their children/grandchildren – registering 58 per cent CCS awareness,” she said.
The CarbonNet Community Reference Group, established in 2019 and chaired by Victoria’s Lead Scientist, Amanda Caples, meets quarterly to receive project updates and discuss emerging issues.
The project also produces educational programs and events for primary and secondary school students focusing on CCS as a decarbonisation tool, including an annual Science Week event, and sponsorship of the University of Melbourne CCS short course.
Ms Burton said adding to the complexity was Gippsland Basin being made Australia’s first declared offshore wind zone in 2022.
Up to 12 offshore wind projects were likely to be awarded feasibility licences in 2024.
“The renewable energy boom in the region also requires transmission infrastructure within the region. CarbonNet has connected with the Crown Estate in the UK to learn about their experiences while also proactively working with multiple adjacent and overlapping offshore and onshore projects in Gippsland,” she said.
“The goal is to not only to achieve coexistence, but to identify opportunities for collaboration, such as data sharing, shared investigations and community events, minimising impacts on stakeholders.”
CarbonNet’s latest update said in June, surveys on public land and private property were conducted where land access had been agreed. Ecology surveys were completed in April, and in June, CarbonNet began geotechnical surveys between Loy Yang and Golden Beach.
The aim is to “contribute to our technical knowledge of the current pipeline corridor and inform the final proposed route”, the update said.
