City of Greater Geraldton set to explore introducing more industrial land for green hydrogen industry

The City of Greater Geraldton will take action to explore introducing more industrial land for the green hydrogen industry amid concerns there isn’t sufficient space available. Council will next week vote on a motion for CEO Ross McKim to write to the State Government asking for their financial and in-kind support, as well as approve $250,000 in the City’s 2023-24 budget to instigate a process to identify and research additional industrial land opportunities, which would take at least three years. City director development services Phil Melling said the issue of appropriate land kept coming up at briefings between council and proponents and State Government representatives about developing a green hydrogen industry in the Mid West. The State Government has offered all six major land holdings within the Oakajee strategic industrial area to several major proponents, while a significant portion of the Narngulu industrial area is in a due diligence process. Mr Melling noted industrial land use was limited at Narngulu because of the proximity to housing, the airport, Meru waste facility and existing industrial uses. “If the green hydrogen industry proceeds, the availability of appropriately zoned industrial land will be very limited. In fact, several additional proponents are already examining locations outside of the current industrial land areas for production and processing facilities. One example is the recent initiation of rezoning by the City for Australian Vanadium Limited,” Mr Melling said. “Determining if additional industrial land is required and where it should be located is a significant undertaking that will take a considerable amount of time to complete. Officers therefore believe it important that actions to commence this process are initiated as soon as possible.” Mayor Shane Van Styn said there was a desperate need for large industrial land in the Mid West, which was why Oakajee was proposed as a strategic industrial area, but alternative options needed to be considered. “The vacant land remaining in Narngulu is owned by the State Government and has been fully allocated to proponents but also forms part of the Southern Yamatji Nation native title settlement,” he said. “Industries being proposed such as the production of hydrogen and ammonia require significant buffers that Narngulu cannot afford.” Mr Van Styn said without any development funds from the State Government to get Oakajee developments underway, the City was required to look at alternative options. “The only options however available to us are to investigate locating industry out east. However, finding suitable places where farmland exists, has to be weighed up against becoming an industrial zone,” he said. “If we do not find suitable industrial land in the medium term and this includes Oakajee, many more large industries will continue to look elsewhere than the Mid West to invest.”