Gladstone hydrogen project axed: Chris Bowen's green energy fantasy continues slow sink into the abyss as $12.5 billion plant gets reality check

Sky News AU

9 hours ago

The energy policy debate in Australia is becoming increasingly difficult to watch.
Partly because we're witnessing the political class cheerfully drive our economy into the ground and our living standards off a cliff, and partly because the narrative has become so absurd it's hard to keep a straight face.
I firmly believe Australia needs cheap reliable power, and to the extent we can reduce emissions without imperilling our living standards and economy, we should absolutely do so.
But the 'lowering emissions' cart must be firmly behind the 'living standards' horse.
Our energy mix should – and will - vary across the country depending on available energy sources; that's why we need to be agnostic about source but laser-focussed on affordability.
The recent politicisation of energy policy has flipped those two priorities.
Retail cost concerns are being papered over by doling out electricity rebates.
In fact, in recent years, the taxpayer has subsidised energy infrastructure projects, wholesale prices and retail prices.
Quite literally, you couldn't stuff it up more if you tried.
In 2022, Resources Minister Madeleine King warned that making gas too cheap would divert investment from renewables.
A year later, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen declared that those advocating for a gas-fired recovery were 'lying', insisting Labor was on a 'rapid path to renewable energy'.
And to help achieve that, Queensland forests are being bulldozed for wind farms in the name of saving the planet - an irony beyond parody.
Labor has since realised that the nation will grind to a halt without gas, and their policy U-turn has been as shameless as it was swift.
But my favourite part of the renewables fanaticism is the cult of green hydrogen; a modern-day pursuit of alchemy funded by the taxpayer.
Last week, the $12.5 billion Gladstone hydrogen project bit the dust, slain in broad daylight by the laws of thermodynamics and the stark reality of the cold hard numbers.
It's a fabulous opportunity to reflect on one of the most lavishly funded, science-free boondoggles in Australian political history.
An estimated $117 million of federal, state and private funding spent on a feasibility study.
All that money – so much of it torched on consultant fees and a fancy driveway.
And why did it fail?
Because the science and economics just didn't stack up, no matter how fervently its adherents believed in the ideal.
Ironically, the same crowd that whimsically dismissed nuclear power – a proven, emissions free source in use or in the pipeline for 19 of the G-20 countries – championed green hydrogen.
The Gladstone is just one of many examples of hydrogen projects not quite panning out despite being slathered in subsidies.
In 2023, ATCO scrapped its green hydrogen projects after soaking up over $103 million in grants.
Earlier this year, Trafigura abandoned its South Australian project after burning through $2.5 million in state government subsidies.
In October 2024, Orica and Origin Energy pulled the plug on their Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub despite being shortlisted for $2 billion in federal funding.
And if that wasn't shameful enough, in March this year, the Australian reported that 99 per cent of the announced hydrogen capacity hadn't progressed beyond concept stage.
You'd think that would dampen enthusiasm.
But no – earlier this month, Mr Bowen pledged $432 million to revive the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub promising 'long-term, high-quality jobs for the region, while decarbonising industries that are vital to our economy'.
If the project wasn't viable nine months ago, what could possibly have changed?
It feels like the intersection of energy policy and 'Weekend at Bernie's'.
A year ago, the Centre of Independent Studies published a report which found that over the past decade the Federal Government had handed out more than $29 billion in subsidies to the renewables sector.
While some of that money may have been worthwhile, the sheer number of projects that never made it past pre-feasibility suggest either the government is hopeless at picking winners or is easily duped by anyone in a Panama hat spruiking a monorail.
Last week, energy expert, Aiden Morrison, pertinently noted in a Post on X: ''Private investors' in offshore wind weren't idiots who failed to notice that it doesn't stack up.' Instead he said they were 'smart guys who will happily get paid to polish a turd they can walk away from'.
Taxpayers lose and the grifters win.
Meanwhile, everyday Australians are unable to pay their electricity bills, and our manufacturing sector continues to shrink due to unreliable, unaffordable power.
Also last week, David Marriner, the CEO of Boyer Paper Mill – the last paper mill in Australia - warned it may close, costing 340 jobs due to power shortages.
We can't even produce enough energy to make paper, and this federal Labor government wants Australia to be a renewable energy superpower!
Laughable.
When will our political class reacquaint itself with reality and return to an energy policy grounded in the fundamentals of a strong Australian future – one that prioritises for Australians above all else?
Caroline Di Russo is a lawyer with 15 years of experience specialising in commercial litigation and corporate insolvency and since February 2023 has been the Liberal Party President in Western Australia