Irrigators and environmental experts say the state government commitment to use River Murray water to power a half a billion dollar hydrogen power plant project in South Australia raises questions about how the natural resource is used.
The plant, slated to be operational by 2025, was part of Labor's 2022 election promise and is set to be built in the regional city of Whyalla.
The hydrogen plant will work alongside a planned desalination plant, also proposed by the state government.
While the desalination plant proposal is yet to be approved, the state government has confirmed it will use River Murray water to power the hydrogen plant.
The water plan was revealed in the South Australian parliament this week, but state energy minister Tom Koutsantonis assured it would only use 200 megalitres annually.
SA Murray Irrigators chair Caren Martin said 200 megalitres equated to the amount of water used each year on an average-sized horticultural block.
She said while she was not opposed to the project, it was signalling mixed messaging to the farming community, who were consistently told to focus on water efficiency.
"We've been told to do more with less and the environmental policy has insisted as such," she said.
"Some of these ideas [like the hydrogen plant] are great but when you take water little bit by little bit, it puts all that extra demand on a system that is already at its limit."
Environmental impact
The Conservation Council of SA said it remained concerned the state government was relying on the River Murray at a time of environmental change, including heading into a drying cycle.
"That's when big questions get asked about where we prioritise our water. Is it for human consumption, is it for the environment, is it for irrigators, is it for industrial users," chief executive Craig Wilkins said.
"The reality is our state is still very reliant on the Murray and that’s when some real trade-offs and tensions emerge."
Mr Wilkins said hydrogen was a "thirsty technology" and a desalination plant was critical.
University of New South Wales professor Stuart Khan says a reliable source of water is necessary for hydrogen plants.
However, he believed the state government could sustainably take water from the river provided it was within an existing allocation.
"If the government can identify water that is available within the existing licensing structure and SA Water has water that they can sell for that purpose, then that would be considered sustainable," he said.
"But I can still see drivers for wanting to move away from that long term; largely around reliability of supply."
Mr Koutsantonis said it should not come as a shock that river water would be used to power the plant, and it had existing structures to do so.
"Almost every industrial purpose in South Australia takes water from the River Murray. It’s where we get all of our water from, so this would be no different," he said.
But shadow minister for energy Stephen Patterson said it was disappointing the information had not been shared until now.
"There's questions abound with this. It’s a risky project that's under tight time frames and mistakes get made under those circumstances," he said.
