BP lock in 27,000 hectare Mullewa property for $23 million to generate 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy

Petroleum giant BP has invested in the Mid West as part of its net-zero pledge, with plans to build a solar wind farm north of Mullewa. BP bought the 27,000ha cropping property Daisy Downs for $23 million earlier this year and plans to incorporate significant green energy generation alongside the existing agricultural business in the area. The latest addition to their property portfolio is expected to comprise 25 per cent of the land needed for BP to create 10 gigawatts of renewable energy, with plans to complete the solar wind farm by 2030. The energy converted at Daisy Downs will be converted to hydrogen and ammonia for export from WA for the government’s green energy hub proposal at Oakajee. The company is assessing more land in the area and negotiating with locals to expand the total premises to 100,000ha across multiple sites. For perspective, the electricity grid powering communities from Geraldton to Kalgoorlie and Albany has a capacity of 3-4 gigawatts. BP spokesman James Foley said the excellent wind and solar resources, as well as the size of the property, had attracted the company to the property. “One of the attractions that we held with Daisy Downs in particular was that it was quite a large property for sale that would allow us to develop gigawatt scale energy immediately,” said Mr Foley. “The wind and solar resources are good in that area, as well as across the Mid West region,” said Mr Foley. One of the most important aspects of the project is the alliance of farming and renewable energy. “Wind turbines themselves actually take up quite a small footprint, so farmers can still use the rest of the property for cropping or grazing,” said Mr Foley. The project provides additional income for the region, acting as a financial safeguard to threats posed to the agriculture industry, such as droughts and natural disasters. The property has been leased to a local farm business to continue cropping while BP has taken the first steps in the project, installing monitoring equipment to gauge the solar and wind power on the land. BP is one of six companies allocated land in the proposed Mid West Hydrogen Hub in Oakajee, 120km west of Daisy Downs. Green LOHC, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Kinara Power, Fortescue Future Industries and Blue Diamond Australia are all included in the lease for the Mid West Hydrogen Hub. The news comes after Perth-based company Infinite Green Energy entered a Memorandum of Understanding with Samsung C&T to build the Arrowsmith Hydrogen Plant in Dongara. The project fits into BP’s goal to have a net-zero footprint by 2050. Mr Foley said BP was “very excited at the potential that the Midwest holds to play a role in the decarbonisation of Western Australia, as well as globally and so excited to be progressing the project.”