Energy

We can power your energy transition

The Northern Territory has world-class gas, solar, and wind resources to meet the growing demand for cleaner, affordable energy sources, both in Australia and around the world.

Current activities

With substantial proven and prospective gas resources both onshore and offshore, the Northern Territory is pursuing significant development opportunities. Natural gas is a crucial transition fuel for achieving net zero emissions and driving economic growth.

Offering vast regions of land and one of the highest solar irradiance levels in the world, the Northern Territory is an excellent location for solar developments, including SunCable’s AAPowerLink project.

Aside from solar, a recent wind study has identified the potential for large-scale onshore wind farms. The study found the wind resources are widespread over regions between Katherine in the north to highly prospecctives areas in the southern portion of the Northern Territory.

The Northern Territory Government is currently collecting onsite pre-competitive wind data to support private sector investment in the development of these resources.

Hydrogen also presents a future opportunity and the Northern Territory Government has published foundational information, such as supply chain and regulation mapping for potential hydrogen investors. It is also working with proponents to enable and develop future production and export of hydrogen. The Middle Arm Precinct will be designed to accommodate production of blue and green hydrogen.

It is anticipated that blue hydrogen will enable the development of infrastructure and logistics for the transport of hydrogen from production to market.

Additional projects of note include the formation of a Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) hub in Darwin to reduce emissions from natural gas processing operations and support the creation of new low emissions industries that use CO₂ and clean hydrogen as feedstocks. The Northern Territory Government has partnered with Australia’s National Science Agency – CSIRO – to progress the hub, which will be one of the largest multi-user, multi-access facilities in the world.

Investing in infrastructure and cutting red tape is a key plank of the Northern Territory Government’s strategy. This includes enabling significant projects by advancing environmental and regulatory approvals, particularly within the Middle Arm Precinct, through the Office of the Territory Coordinator.

The Northern Territory Government is developing an infrastructure corridor from north of Tennant Creek to the Port of Darwin to carry gas, oil, hydrogen, and utilities (water, digital communications) through the Territory Energy Link.

Northern Territory advantages

• LNG: With proven gas resources offshore and global scale shale resources onshore, the Northern Territory is playing a leading role in Australia’s LNG expansion plans. Onshore projects: Beetaloo Sub-basin and Amadeus Basin in Central Australia. Offshore projects: Barossa, Ichthys and Blacktip fields.
• CCS hub: The Northern Territory Government is working with industry to develop a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) hub at the Middle Arm Precinct with 50Mtpa of CO₂ capacity. This reduces emissions from natural gas processing operations and supports the creation of new low emissions industries.
• Hydrogen: Large-scale hydrogen production is in development for domestic and export markets.
• Solar: Competitive solar irradiance levels (22 to 24 MJ/m2) and land for mega-scale projects.
• Onshore wind: Excellent wind resources in the Barkly and Central Australian regions, with average minimum wind speeds of 6-8m/s.
• Masterplanned development-ready industrial precinct (Middle Arm Precinct): Featuring enabling infrastructure to support industries including hydrogen, carbon capture, energy advanced manufacturing and minerals processing.
• Deep water port with new ship lift under construction: As the closest Australian capital city to Asia, Darwin is set to become a thriving maritime centre, capable of maintaining and servicing Defence and Border Force vessels, along with commercial and private vessels from the fishing, oil and gas, and marine sectors.

Opportunities

• Natural gas: Beetaloo Sub-basin, containing 500+ trillion cubic feet of P50 gas-in-place-resource across 28,000km² in geologically continuous unconventional shales within stacked petroleum plays.
• Renewables: Large-scale solar and onshore wind.
• Hydrogen: Blue and green hydrogen production.
• CCS: As part of the Middle Arm Precinct, the proposed CCS hub will be one of the world’s largest facilities of its kind, enabling production of existing and future LNG assets with a significantly lower carbon footprint.