The Precinct
Overview
The Mid West Low Carbon Manufacturing Precinct (the Precinct) is a 3,500 ha strategic land holding that is sufficient in size to host all of the infrastructure requirements for Strike’s South Erregulla development and can, by virtue of it being cleared and ploughed farmland, enable accelerated development of this infrastructure by negating the requirement for native vegetation clearing permits and approvals.
The Precinct is located within the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) that transmits electricity across the primary electricity market of WA, providing energy to homes and businesses in Perth and the surrounding South West. The Precinct is approximately 15 km South West of the 132 kV transmission line between Three Springs and Geraldton. The close proximity to the transmission lines makes it the ideal location for Strike’s proposed fully integrated, 85 MW peaking gas power plant project that was announced on the 24th of June 2024.
The Precinct sits directly above Strike’s South Erregulla gas field, which is in Western Australia’s Mid West region and part of the State’s large wheatbelt region.
The Precinct also has abundant wind resources (being located in the prolific Mid West wind corridor) and solar resources and, with large areas of cleared land, is suitable to host solar power infrastructure and wind turbines.
The Mid West Low Carbon Manufacturing Precinct is in an ideal geographic setting and possesses strong natural advantages in both wind and solar power generation. In particular, the wind resource that is available for capture at the Precinct is nationally significant, with the Precinct sitting on the first ridge line inland from the Mid West coast, elevated ~300m over a ~30km distance from the shore. This ridge line in the Mid West has a prolific wind resource and is host to four of the top ten most productive windfarms in Australia, including Yandin, Badgingarra, Mumbida and Emu Downs. (see chart and map below).
Strike’s desktop analysis shows that the Precinct could host up to 100 MW of wind resources with an estimated capacity factor between 40-50% and, subject to land allocation, a further 70 MW of solar resource. Surplus renewable power outside of Haber’s requirements could be made available for other behind the meter co-located industrial users, additional green hydrogen production or fed into the State’s adjacent SWIS distribution and transmission network.
The Precinct land includes the South Erregulla Kingia and Wagina low impurity gas fields, as well as Jurassic aged sandstone reservoir identified as a potential carbon storage reservoir.
The Jurassic Sandstones within the Cattamarra Coal Measures were observed to be a very high-quality reservoir. A 103 metre clean, net sandstone reservoir with an average porosity of 19% (up to 23%) was measured between 2,096m MD and 2,297m MD. This non-hydrocarbon bearing reservoir has many of the characteristics of a suitable location for the storage of captured carbon.
Strike will now progress additional geotechnical and engineering studies over this structure to assess the suitability for a potential carbon capture and storage program. The Haber plant design includes compression of high purity CO2 to a pressure suitable for injection into the carbon storage reservoir, providing another decarbonisation option for the project and the region.
Important Notices
The proposed Low Carbon Mid-West Precinct development, will be contingent on, among other things, successfully re-zoning the land for the intended renewable and industrial uses, obtaining all other required regulatory approvals, licences and authorisations and, in the case of the renewable uses, securing renewables developer(s) on terms acceptable to Strike.