Recent Projects
Client: AngloGold Ashanti Australia
Solar Thermal Grant application for the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program
AngloGold Ashanti is developing the Tropicana Gold Project, a new mining operation located approximately 330km North East of Kalgoorlie. The site is isolated from the grid, the natural gas pipelines, and all other energy infrastructure. The conventional and well-proven way to provide reliable electricity for such an application would be the use of diesel-fired gensets.
Alternative energy sources were investigated. The most suitable renewable generation technology is concentrating solar thermal using a power tower configuration, with molten salt as an energy storage medium. This solution could potentially provide power on demand, 24 hours per day, for the entire site.
HAC is working with AngloGold Ashanti and their project partners to develop a grant application for the Australian Government's Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP).
The application of solar thermal technology to mineral processing could trigger a step change in Australia's mining industry. The project would be partially insulated from oil price volatility, improving the long-term economic viability of the site. Greenhouse gas emissions would be substantially reduced, and a source of abundant low-cost electricity would enable the processing of lower-grade ores, thus improving the lifetime and profitability of the site.
Client: State Government of New South Wales
Identification of low-carbon innovations and methods to overcome barriers to commercialisation
HAC was commissioned in partnership with RARE Consulting to identify and analyse greenhouse gas abatement options across the transport, agriculture and manufacturing sectors of the NSW economy. The purpose was to determine which had the potential to deliver an economic and greenhouse gas benefit, understand any barriers that were preventing succesful implementation, and determine if there was a role for Government in overcoming the barriers. The project team recommended a set of policy mechanisms that would help enable the successful commercialisation of selected innovations.
A broad examination of greenhouse gas abatement innovations resulted in several hundred options being identified across the three sectors. These were filtered using a two stage elimination process that incorporated a unique two-axis multi-criteria analysis technique developed for the project. This presented the options in a format that enabled a comparison of the relative economic and greenhouse benefits of each innovation.
Short-listed innovations were studied in detail to determine the barriers to implementation. This involved an audit of NSW and Federal Government policy to determine what measures were already in place, and extensive stakeholder engagement to determine where new measures were required or where current measures could be improved.
The final results were presented to Government in a format that enabled them to update the analysis as technology and economic factors changed.
Client: A Global Oil & Gas Exploration and Extraction Company
Emissions Forecast for Natural Gas Extraction and Production Facilities
This company is developing a natural gas extraction and production project that is scheduled for commissioning in the first quarter of 2009. The plant will export gas to an onshore gas pipeline, and condensate through subsea pipelines to a mooring for tanker shipment.
HAC was engaged to provide an emissions forecast for the project. The objectives of this phase of work were to:
- Forecast the emissions inventory for the project;
- Benchmark the project; and
- Recommend and workshop opportunties for greenhouse gas abatement
The inventory prepared for this project referenced the American Petroleum Institute (API) Guidelines and the API Compendium for the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions, which was in accordance with the latest available information on the NGER regulations and met all existing and proposed Australian standards for emissions calculations.
Client: Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation
Provision of Advice to WA Government Agencies on the Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Information to the SARGE Program
The Western Australian Government has established a System for Accounting and Reporting Government Emissions (SARGE), through which more than 40 non-incorporated government agencies are expected to report their energy and emissions for the 2007-2008 financial year.
The Office of Climate Change (OCC) anticipated that a number of the agencies which are required to report their 2007-2008 energy use and emissions would require technical and procedural assistance.
The OCC engaged the services of HAC to augment their internal capacity to meet the anticipated demand for support. HAC agents provide support in the form of telephone, email and face-to-face advice. Tools have been developed to help standardise the format of a request for assistance and to automate the resolution of threshold-based queries, thus minimising the consulting time required for administrative and repetitive tasks.
Client: Tourism Western Australia
Greenhouse Audit and Offset Recommendation
Tourism WA contracted HAC to quantify a subset of their scope 1, 2 & 3 greenhouse gas emissions. This involved close collaboration with Tourism WA staff and subcontractors to determine and agree the appropriate boundaries of the exercise. HAC was asked to recommend an appropriate accounting standard to apply; we recommended the Greenhouse Accounting Protocol developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). HAC proposed, and the client accepted, to use emissions factors from the National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors Workbook to determine overall emissions.
Client: A Multinational Contractor for Infrastructure Projects and Services
Greenhouse Footprint; Determination of NGER obligations; Data Gap Analysis.
This client engaged HAC to help the business prepare for NGERS. The package of services included:
- A partial greenhouse footprint for three selected facilities;
- A determination of corporate and facility obligations under the NGER Act;
- A report on operational control, boundaries, and strategies for resolving issues; and
- An analysis of data management practices.
HAC advised the client on how the NGER regulations applied to their specific circumstances, considering corporate and facility thresholds, the proportion of their projects/sites where they were likely to be deemed to have operational control (and therefore be required to report under NGER) and provided guidance on understanding the suite of scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions they would need to consider to meet internal corporate objectives and NGER requirements. Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions were calculated using the National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors Workbook and the NGER Technical Guidelines.