Tomago Aluminium in “Australian Financial Review” dated 10 August 2021 highlights the cost barriers of firmed renewable power. Concrush agrees that the cost of renewable power is currently too high, but the future price of renewable energy will be coming down. Concrush has developed an electrification plan over the next eight years which sees equipment being updated from diesel energy to electrical when both the technology is available and the return on investment is acceptable.
In May 2021 we installed a 10kW solar system to supplement our office power needs. In March 2021 we entered into a contract with Hydrogen 2 Power to install a hydrogen cylinder supply for one of our 25t excavators aiming to reduce its diesel consumption by 25%. Installation and commisioning is expcted soon.
A quote from the Tomago Aluminium article follows:
“Our goal would be, by 2029, that the largest load in Australia is, for all intents and purposes, 100 percent renewable,” Mr Howell told the Australian Financial Review.
“There’s further improvements on the cost of the equation to go before firmed renewables is a viable option for us, but we are perpetually optimistic; I think we will get there”
Traction is also growing among other industries in NSW to locate operations close to renewable energy zones and near sites that may host green hydrogen production. Mining products supplier MolyCop and concrete recycler Concrush are among companies backing a renewable energy industrial precinct initiative by think-tank Beyond Zero Emissions in the Hunter region.
NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean told the NSW Smart Energy Summit on Tuesday that “if you’ve got an energy-intensive business – or you’re keen to build one – then NSW is the place to be”