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WITH “exciting” works soon to be underway for the delivery of the state’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan, the regional town of Whyalla will be a landmark in the future of the world’s renewable energy.

Having solar and wind energy already in play, the new Whyalla hydrogen facility — set to start operations in 2026 — will deliver exponential growth to local economies, job opportunities, and access to clean, green energy.

Office for Hydrogen Power South Australia chief executive Sam Crafter said a lot of people are talking about hydrogen and the role it plays, but the reason it is so good goes back to other renewable energy resources.

“Not only do we have a lot of them, we have a really high quality both wind and solar resource; we also have them co-located and coincident, so that means they operate in a way that gives you a really high amount of renewable energy for longer periods of time,” Mr Crafter said.

“This means if you want to use renewable energy to make things you (need to) have a lot, but because we’ve got such a big resource — 74 per cent at the moment in South Australia of our energy is renewables — we’re on track for that to be 100 per cent by 2027.

“We still have billions of dollars’ worth of projects that are sitting undeveloped in renewable energy because there’s not going to be a market for them in South Australia, and the reality of them is the scale of the projects.

“There’s not going to be a market for them in the whole east coast of Australia just for electricity supply, because we just simply won’t use enough electricity.

“So, the question is how do you get those projects developed, and what do you do with that energy

If you’ve got that energy and you can turn it into products that others will use, then that is how you can unlock that investment.

“And the product everyone is looking for is hydrogen, particularly hydrogen made from renewable energies.”

There has already been a lot of activity underway at the hydrogen site, including core drilling to understand any ground issues and the erection of a sign on the Port Augusta Road indicating the site’s location.

Mr Crafter said civil construction work and site preparation works will get underway in the second half of 2024.

“People will really start to notice the site and the formation of that towards the end of the year,” he said.

“From there, it just continually rolls on with a whole range of activities happening — some buildings being constructed, electrolysers and facilities, really large-scale things — and things will start to (arrive) in quite large modules by ship so we’re doing a whole lot of preparation of how we best transport things from the port of Whyalla through to the site.

“It’s quite exciting; obviously our project team can’t wait to see things come out of the ground and we really understand the people of Whyalla are excited for that as well.”

A new age of prosperity for South Australia

AT the peak of its construction, the Hydrogen Jobs Plan will open the door for about 1000 workers at the Whyalla site, boosting local economy growth and employment opportunities.

Working collaboratively, the Whyalla Hydrogen Jobs Plan and the Port Augusta Technical College will provide expansive opportunities for training pathways and upskilling in the heart of the Upper Spencer Gulf.

Office for Hydrogen Power South Australia chief executive Sam Crafter said it was exciting to see job opportunities in the sector, and continued opportunities for growth in the region.

“It’s very exciting to be working on a world- leading project, it always is, but to be able to do it on behalf of the government where our objectives are broader than just making a profit, our objectives on this project are unlocking the future opportunities for South Australia and South Australians living in regional areas,” he said.

“It is a really exciting thing that we can push hard to get a project done that is going to change the way that the world looks at South Australia, but it’s also going to change the way in which the world uses hydrogen because we’re doing it at a scale that hasn’t been done before.

“This will unlock other opportunities to encourage other people to do it at the same scale, and in doing that we’re providing a whole lot of opportunities from an economic perspective across South Australia, but at a really tangible level we’re seeing something really exciting being built in the Upper Spencer Gulf.

“We’re seeing people from the Upper Spencer Gulf being able to work on that, and we’re seeing young people being able to have a future where they are able to not only work in South Australia but in their region, and that’s a very exciting part of what we do.”

With the Port Augusta Technical College set to open in 2025, more job and skill opportunities will be made available for people, starting at a school level.

Mr Crafter said it was important to be able to have these opportunities to get ahead of the demand of jobs that South Australia will experience as the renewable energy industry continues to grow.

“The question is, how are we going to get enough people to do these jobs?” he said.

“One of the things we have to do is some particular trade training, so having the technical college which is getting started right from school age through to the trades, and that is important because that means people around the Upper Spencer Gulf will be able to focus on industry experience that’s relevant to their communities.

“The way of thinking is moving, it’s moving from how do we train people to get the best chance of getting a job, to how do we train people to get the jobs that are going to be available?

“That’s the exciting part of it, and it’s not just the technical college, there’s a whole range of other training, other work around employment programs, to be able to line up with these opportunities as well.”