Appea hails expansion of Arena's remit
Australia’s peak oil and gas body Appea on August 4 said expanding the investment remit of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) will help the country reach net zero emissions.
The federal government said Arena will now play a major role in driving investments in the next generation of technologies, including energy efficiency, carbon capture technologies, blue hydrogen and energy storage technologies to back up renewable energy and soil carbon.
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“All technology, including hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS), should be on the table to help reduce emissions. Supporting these common sense measures demonstrates support for practical steps to reduce emissions and help the environment,” Appea CEO Andrew McConville said.
McConville said the expansion of Arena to include a broader range of emissions reduction technologies is a win for common sense. He argued that just as government investment in renewables has fast tracked projects, this will do the same and create thousands of jobs in the process.
“The global oil and gas industry is leading the world in the practical deployment of CCS and hydrogen. In Australia, the oil and gas industry has been at the leading edge of researching and deploying CCS and greenhouse gas storage technologies,” he said. “Natural gas with CCS is a pathway to a large-scale clean hydrogen industry.”
Australian upstream oil and gas industry has the technology, expertise, commercial and trade relationships to make, in particular, hydrogen exports a reality, McConville added.
“Developing a local hydrogen industry could enable lower emissions both in Australia and internationally, reduce energy costs, deliver energy security, together with delivering new employment and manufacturing opportunities,” he said.