Sahara Forest Project Karratha Feasibility StudyReport up-date

Bill Watts

Revegetation and creation of green jobs through profitableproduction of food, freshwater, biofuels and electricity

What SFP is about?

• Meeting the trilemma of:• Energy• Water • Food

• Stress on land use• Reversing desertification• Providing employment to marginal communities.

How?

• Making use of marginalised land for enclosed intensive profitable agriculture

• Making use of seawater or brackish water• Making use of solar power to drive systems• Replanting external areas with suitable crop.• Make use of industrial synergies

QATAR PILOT PLANT

Why Karratha?

• Plenty of land• Best solar resource in Australia -

particularly in winter• Near seawater• Potential for synergies with other

industry

WINTER SOLAR

Benefits for Karratha?

• A new range of development opportunities

• Diversification from Extractive industries

• Employment opportunities and ladder for less skilled workforce into a Horticultural industry.

However….• Is there a market for the produce ?• Long way from the rest of the Australia • Cyclone risk• High temperatures• Would you get the labour ?

Is there a business case for an SFP development??

Feasibility study to broadly examine

• Site selection• Technical aspects• Market size and location• The business case• Explore synergies

A

B

C

Site Selection• Flat land• Access to seawater & discharge• Close to roads

Airport site:• Good

infrastructure • Flat land • Potential Synergies

with other stakeholders

City of Karratha Proposal:

Working Hypothesis: Compare 2 ha and 20 ha greenhouse.

2 ha:• At the lower limit of commercial

viability• Nice size to start up and train workforce

[c.10 to 20]• Less capex but higher $/m2 cost

20 ha:• At the upper end of manageable

operation [ 100 to 200 staff ]• Lower $/m2

Site schematic:

Development plot:

Manifestation of 2 and 20 ha greenhouses on plot:

2 ha version

20 ha version

Cyclones:Uplift in cost of structure and foundations

Greenhouse internal environment

• Swamp cooler with Brine• Air distributed at low level

below plants.• Extract at high level at the

end of the runs

Workforce:

• Motivation and efficiency is crucial

• Over 50% of the cost of production

• Great opportunity for less skilled workforce

• Potential for community ownership

BENEFITS OF PROTECTIVE CROPPING

• Better quality of produce. • Pesticide free with biological pest

control• Year round production• Protection from climatic events• Highly efficient water use

0.1

0.5

0.8

0.6

1.7

2017

1.2

1.1

0.0

0.6

2023

1.0

0.0

0.5

0.9

1.7

0.0

2018

0.1

0.1

0.5

0.6

2022

0.9

2021

1.8

0.0

0.0

0.5

0.1

2.0

0.6

1.0

1.9

0.1

0.1

0.6

0.6

0.1

2.1

0.6

0.7

0.0

0.6

0.7

1.2

2.3

0.0 0.8

2.4

2024

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.7

0.8

0.4

2.5

2025

Lettuce

Chillies

2020

Eggplant

2019

Capsicum

Cucumber

Tomatoes

1.3

0.13.5

3.73.9

4.1

4.4

4.6

4.8

5.1

5.4

5.36% p.a.

Size of local market, m AUD

BUSINESS CASE

The Pilbara market for selected vegetables is however expected to grow at ~8% (including inflation) per year until 2025

Source: SFP Analysis

TOMATOES

EGG PLANTS

LETTUCE

CUCUMBERS

CHILLIES

CAPSICUMS

Greenhouse output of tomatoes vs Market size

Greenhouse size

Karratha[excluding non

residents]

The Pilbara[excluding non

residents]

WesternAustralia SE Asia

2 ha500% of market

200% of market

5% of market Very small

20 ha5000% of

market2000% of

market50% of market

Still Very small

Greenhouse

Perth HUB

Local Market

Mining Camp

Other marketsNiche Off-

taker

Low cost Back Haul

The Pilbara

The South

Logistics

Frequent existing supply contracts

Objectives

Greenhouse size Proposed Market

2 haLocal produce and mining camps; Supplying Niche off-takers and

trialling the wider market. Perhaps multi-crop

20 ha Need to secure major off-takers in Australia and abroad

Business case of stand alone greenhouse

Greenhouse size

Capex for infrastructure[Not inculded in business case]

Capex for greenhouse

and PV array Business case

2 ha $7.8 million $16.4millionIRR of around 8%. Sensitive to CAPEX,

production costs and product price

20 ha $7.8 million $143 millionIRR of around 12%. Sensitive to CAPEX,

production costs and product price. Substantial off-take required.

What next

• Target development of 2 ha scheme• Value engineer CAPEX• Develop strategy of getting Traditional Owner buy-in• Develop off take agreements• Grant funding• Other funding

2 ha facility will show the potential of the site and high light levels, and the quality of the produce to make a case for a larger scheme.

Wanggalili Project

Project ObjectivesTo engage with Traditional Owners to unlock commercial benefits of Bush Plants for their benefit.

SFP to provide• Greenhouse space to test growth

of native species with high performance horticulture practice.

• Space for external plant cultivation.• Potential to set up research facility• Potential to research best species

to grow between solar panels

Industrial Synergies

Requirement for renewable power to off site hydrogen production facility

• Existing 1 MW PV array• Existing infrastructure of 33 kV network

and Horizon connection• Requirement for more solar power

• Existing seawater connections and discharge

• Existing RO desalination plant• Requirement for solar power

• New industrial facility making magnesium from brine

• Requirement for large amount of power• Waste brine suitable for SFP cooling

• Produce large quantities of CO2• Requirement for solar power in Barrup

plant for H2 production

Industrial synergies

The Ecohub layout

• 20,000 ha of greenhouse in Almeria produces

• €2 billion horticultural export.

• Google map of Karratha at the same scale as the Almeria, Spain.

Potential for large scale horticulture to serve SE asia: Comparason with Almeria in Spain

Potential for large scale PV to generate $41 bn of revenue from solar power

www.saharaforestproject.com

ENABLING RESTORATIVE GROWTH

www.saharaforestproject.com

ENABLING RESTORATIVE GROWTH