The green hydrogen project taking shape west of Moree is not being pitched as an experiment or a futuristic concept, but as a practical response to some of agriculture’s biggest vulnerabilities: imported fuel, volatile fertiliser prices and supply chain shocks.
As construction ramps up on the Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia (GEGHA) project near Moree, project partners say the goal is to prove renewable hydrogen and locally produced ammonia can work at commercial scale for Australian farming.
The project, a joint venture between Sundown Pastoral Company and New Zealand-based Hiringa Energy, is being built adjacent to the Wathagar cotton gin on the ‘Keytah’ property, about 33 kilometres west of Moree. At full capacity, the facility is expected to use 36MW of solar generation, battery storage, electrolysis and ammonia production to create up to 2,200 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
Much of that hydrogen will be converted into low-carbon ammonia for fertiliser, while the balance will be used directly as a fuel source to replace diesel and LPG in agricultural operations.
From farm problem to hydrogen solution
The project has been several years in development, with early concept work beginning before the NSW Government’s Hydrogen Hub funding program opened in 2023.
Since then, the proposal has progressed through engineering, planning approvals and procurement, with construction now underway.
Hiringa Energy chief executive Andrew Clennett said the partnership between the company, Sundown and the NSW Government had been central to bringing the project to life.
“I’m very proud of Hiringa’s record of delivering leading green hydrogen and renewable projects, but that doesn’t happen without strong collaboration across many parties. It takes a village to make these projects work, and we’re fortunate to share the same bold vision with our GEGHA partners.”
The NSW Government has invested $45.2 million into the project through the Hydrogen Hub Initiative and Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative.
Speaking at the sod turning event to mark the start of construction last week, Minister for Climate Change, Energy and Environment Penny Sharpe said the project highlighted how clean energy investment could directly support regional industries and communities.
“The start of construction on GEGHA marks a major milestone for hydrogen capacity building in NSW, showing how clean energy investment can deliver real benefits for regional communities, industry and farmers,” Ms Sharpe said.
“The current fuel shock shows why projects like this are so important – they help make farming supply chains more reliable by reducing our need for imported fertilisers.”
Development approval was granted in February this year, with operations expected to begin in early 2027.
“We are delighted to be able to begin construction of the unique elements of this project, which has so much potential for the regional NSW farming community,” Mr Clennett said.
Reducing reliance on imports
Hiringa Energy Head of New Business Ryan McDonald said the idea grew from a straightforward question about how farming businesses could reduce their exposure to global supply shocks.
“This project grew out of a very practical on-farm question: ‘how do we reduce reliance on imported diesel and fertiliser while keeping productivity, reliability and costs under control?’” Mr McDonald said.
Mr McDonald said fertiliser quickly became part of the equation.
“Fertiliser is one of farming’s biggest inputs and one of the most exposed to global price shocks and supply disruptions.”
Sundown Pastoral Company co-owner David Statham said the project had become even more important amid ongoing volatility in fuel and fertiliser markets.
“Australia is very vulnerable when it comes to imported fuel and fertiliser,” Mr Statham said.
“Farmers live and breathe those pressures every day at the moment, and consumers are seeing it in the supermarket aisles with the price of their food through this crisis.”
Sundown has always been an early adopter of new farming practices. When the business started looking seriously at decarbonisation, hydrogen stood out as something that could be produced locally using renewable energy and then used directly on the farm as a fuel.
“We need to find another solution, to insulate regional economies who are dependent on agriculture, and this shows it’s possible.”
The project partners say the facility will produce enough ammonia to replace imported fertiliser currently trucked long distances into regional NSW, while also cutting transport emissions and reducing dependence on overseas supply chains.
The plant is expected to remove at least 64,000 kilometres of loaded dangerous goods transport from NSW roads annually, while saving at least 40,000 litres of diesel in freight haulage alone.
Proven technology, local production
One of the key practical questions for farmers is how hydrogen fits into existing diesel-powered machinery.
Mr McDonald said dual-fuel hydrogen systems were already proven technology.
“Hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel systems are already mature technology and have been successfully demonstrated in Australia, including by the HWR Group and through conversion work completed at Sundown.”
“The main limitation today isn’t the machinery, it’s access to reliable hydrogen supply.”
The project will also revive local access to ammonia fertiliser after the closure of the Gibson Island ammonia plant in 2022 disrupted domestic supply.
Mr McDonald said ammonia itself was not new to agriculture.
“Ammonia has been used safely and effectively as a nitrogen fertiliser for decades, including across Queensland and NSW.”
“When applied correctly, ammonia delivers comparable yields to urea and can offer agronomic advantages, particularly through reduced nitrogen losses.”
He said the innovation was not ammonia itself, but the ability to manufacture it locally using renewable energy.
“What’s new here is producing it locally, using renewable energy, and making supply more reliable for growers.”
A local success to be replicated elsewhere
Mr McDonald said local reaction had generally been supportive once residents understood how the facility would operate.
“This is an agricultural community that’s familiar with industrial equipment, grain infrastructure and fertiliser handling,” he said.
“From the start, the focus has been on transparency, explaining what’s being built, how it operates, and the safety and regulatory controls in place.”
He said there had also been strong interest in the project’s potential to improve fertiliser security and create skilled regional jobs.
Importantly, Mr McDonald said the project was never intended to remain a small pilot.
“Importantly, this isn’t a one-off pilot. It’s a commercial demonstration backed by Hiringa Energy’s broader ammonia project pipeline.”
The design, he said, was deliberately intended to be replicated at other agricultural and industrial sites where energy and fertiliser demand already existed.
Hiringa is already progressing further hydrogen and ammonia projects in the Riverina and Gwydir regions, each proposed at more than 50MW scale. Andrew Clennett said the projects have much potential for the regional NSW farming community.
“I’m very proud of Hiringa’s record of delivering leading green hydrogen and renewable projects, but that doesn’t happen without strong collaboration across many parties,” he said.
“It takes a village to make these projects work, and we’re fortunate to share the same bold vision with our GEGHA partners.”
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