Energy minister Chris Bowen said he was confident the gas-fired Hunter Power Project at Kurri Kurri can be converted to green hydrogen for $700 million. Questions about the feasibility of the conversion project, which Labor announced in February, have arisen in recent weeks.
Snowy Hydro is working out how to fulfil the government's brief, which includes introducing green hydrogen into the plant's fuel mix as soon as possible. It also wants the plant to be operating on 100 per cent green hydrogen by 2030.
"We are working very closely with Snowy, as you'd expect, to implement our election commitments," Mr Bowen said. "[Green hydrogen will be introduced] in line with the election commitment we made, which is to match best practice around the world."
"We were very clear 10 per cent (hydrogen), then 30 per cent and then best practice to get as high as possible as quickly as possible."
But Mr Bowen was less interested in endorsing the former federal government's commitment to provide the Port of Newcastle with $100 million to support the development of the hydrogen sector at the Port of Newcastle.