The developers of the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH), a groundbreaking wind and solar project designed to support green hydrogen production, have submitted an application for environmental approval to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for a 70-GW upgraded version of the scheme.
The WGEH project is being developed by an international consortium comprising InterContinental Energy, CWP Global, the Mirning Traditional Lands Aboriginal Corporation, and Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), which joined the partnership in 2023.
The vast complex will be located in the Goldfields-Esperance region on Mirning Country and will cover 2.29 million hectares (5.7 million acres) of pastoral leases and crown lands. It will include up to 35 solar farms featuring 60 million photovoltaic (PV) modules and 3,000 wind turbines. This infrastructure will generate enough electricity to power electrolysers that will produce 3.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
The green hydrogen produced will supply various sectors, including power generation, shipping fuel, minerals processing, and manufacturing. A significant portion of the hydrogen output is planned to be exported to international markets.
The project, which will be developed in seven stages over an estimated 30-year construction timeline, was originally designed to have a capacity of 50 GW. The upgraded version, if approved, will increase the project's capacity to 70 GW, further enhancing its potential to drive the green energy transition in the region and globally.
