8 Rivers hydrogen a 'last gasp' effort by oil and gas sector - Greenpeace
By Pattrick Smellie
Nov. 26 (BusinessDesk) - Greenpeace is labelling a proposal to build a multi-billion dollar electricity, hydrogen and
urea plant in Taranaki a "last gasp" effort by the oil and gas sector to prolong its life in New Zealand.
Steve Abel, campaign head for the environmental lobby group, said the project is using gas as a "Trojan horse" to keep
the oil and gas sector alive.
Details of the Pouakai project, backed by the US company 8 Rivers, are emerging as part of an application for a
Provincial Growth Fund loan of up to $20 million for a feasibility study using its novel Allam Cycle technology. The
project would use super-critical carbon dioxide to drive turbines to produce electricity before pumping the CO2
underground into depleted oil and gas fields - so-called carbon capture and storage.
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is backing the proposal for PGF funding, but other Cabinet ministers
may take some convincing. Even a zero-emissions gas-fired project would cut across the political symbolism of the
decision in April not to issue any new offshore oil and gas exploration permits.
While the Pouakai project is promising 'clean energy' because it will have no CO2 emissions, Abel said Greenpeace
considered carbon capture and storage a "highly questionable solution" which had yet to be proven effective
internationally.
Abel said hydrogen as a fuel was 30 years away and that the Pouakai plan to produce urea for agricultural fertiliser was
also unacceptable because urea emitted greenhouse gases when used.
"We should get rid of synthetic nitrates altogether," he said, and praised the government for its decision to end new
offshore oil and gas exploration.
"We hope they continue to do that and don't get caught up in greenwash exercises such as this."
Asked about the 8 Rivers proposal at her post-Cabinet press conference today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she
could offer a "general comment" that there was "a huge amount of potential in hydrogen".
"There's a bit more work to do but we, as a whole I think, are demonstrating our support for that."
Meanwhile, the Taxpayers' Union lobby group, reacting to reports that the Pouakai project was seeking PGF backing as
political insurance against unexpected regulatory changes, said the government should simply offer regulatory certainty.
"Instead of throwing money at a corporate heavy-hitter, the government should allow this project to proceed without
taxpayer involvement by giving 8 Rivers assurance it won't pull out the regulatory rug in pursuit of an anti-gas
agenda."
A US$140 million, 50-megawatt power plant belonging to Net POWER, which is licenced by 8 Rivers to use the Allam Cycle,
has been running since earlier this year in La Porte, Texas.
(BusinessDesk)