Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor - interviewed by 7SD FM’s Richard Perno
The clip was played on the following north east Tasmanian local radio stations:
Radio 7SD 540AM
89.3 LAFM
Chilli 99.7 GM
Chilli 90.1 fm
Transcript
Richard Perno - 7SD (00:00):
And then overnight comes the news that all eyes are gonna be focusing on George Town with the construction of what's believed to be the first commercial scale hydrogen plant, soon to begin This has been going on for some time. The Council of George Town gave it a tick off the other night at their meeting. And the mayor of George Town, a very happy man, Greg Kieser. Good morning mayor.
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (00:24):
Indeed. I am. Good morning, Richard.
Richard Perno - 7SD (00:26):
And it must it must be sort of a breath of fresh air. Now. You've, you've had this going for a while and now it's happened. What, what, what was the tipping point that made you say, yeah, we're gonna do this, Greg, what was at play?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (00:39):
You're entirely right. It has been coming for some time. It's been you know, a process of perseverance. But we are there. We're just super delighted that Line Hydrogen are over the line. They've done all the EPA and all the work, and they've got the tick. And, you know, you know, to answer your question in terms of, you know, what's moved it forward, I think it's the first. And so they've done the hard work in terms of actually educating everybody and educating our EPA as to the process and the questions they need to ask so that the next projects get off the ground a little bit easier. And so I congratulate them. We are super happy.
Richard Perno - 7SD (01:20):
Why George Town? How George Town did, was it on the map? Why your town, Greg?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (01:26):
Look, it's for very good reasons. Firstly we are almost the, we are the largest heavy industrial zone in Tasmania. We account for more than 50% or close to 50% of the GDP of our economy. We understand industry. We are a heavy industry town, and, and we value it. And you know, if you look at the power, the zoning, the deep water port, it's all the ingredients that are required for us to be a significant scale global player in green hydrogen and methanol.
Richard Perno - 7SD (01:57):
How did they hear about you
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (02:00):
Look as part, you know, if you recall early on the Guy Barnett and the current government did publish a hydrogen prospectus. And they've used that to recruit and raise interest in Tasmania as a manufacturing destination. And both this announcement with Line Hydrogen as well as the recent announcement by ABEL Energy and Iberdrola for another 1.2 billion plant is a direct consequence of the work and the prospecting that was done. And so, you know, again, you know, we've got pretty good leadership for the most part. Yeah. And I can, you know, I congratulate them. It is working. We're moving in the right direction and our community is delighted.
Richard Perno - 7SD (02:39):
Is it evolving now as as we talk, Greg, can you see action on that block of land?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (02:46):
Yes, certainly can. So it's a size of, I think it's 13 hectares. It's being cleared. The groundwork is done. There's a, a fairly significant solar farm that's gonna be put on site and followed by the actual construction of the manufacturing facility itself.
Richard Perno - 7SD (03:03):
How's it going to blossom out of the ground? What will it look like?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (03:07):
I think it's gonna look a little bit futuristic. You know, from the road you'll come into George Town, I think it'll sort of set the tone. You'll see it as you come in on the left hand side, you will see a solar farm predominantly. And the actual manufacturing facility itself is probably a little bit demure, wish it was a little bit more exciting in appearance. But it's appropriate for what they need to do. It's effectively looks like a large corrugated steel building. But again, it's fit for purpose. It is modular that expands as the market grows and as Tasmania matures and we just couldn't be happier.
Richard Perno - 7SD (03:40):
Yeah. And for the town, you are the mayor of George Town. Was this chatter in the bar? Was this chatter in the, in the homes of George Town?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (03:48):
Yeah, look, absolutely. And I stress, you know, we are in a community that understands industry. We understand heavy industry. Our, our community value is being able to live and work close to home. And so there's overwhelming supports of this style of renewable project. So it's been something that our community has been following. We talk about it. There's a lot of education that's happened so people understand what is coming. It is a green project. And again, you know, for the most part, you know, jobs are important, but also our place and our context in the world and where we're moving is, is delightful for us.
Richard Perno - 7SD (04:22):
And that's meat and potatoes of a town like Georgetown, heavy industry, isn't it? Greg Kieser I guess there'll be a lot employed to, to kick this off, in other words, to, to grow it out of the ground. And then you have the ongoing maintenance and, and employment. Don't you?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (04:38):
Look economically, this is just fantastic during your build phase, you know, you literally have hundreds upon hundreds of people who enter your local economy. You know, they stand up these projects and then in the operate phase again, you have substantial employment. The, the exact figures for Iron hydrogen escaped me, but I know when we talked with Able Energy, it was as much as 500 people who will be contracted during build phase, which is anything up to two years and the potentially 200 to 300 FTE roles moving forward. And again, if you translate that into housing stock and supply and local economy, you know, that's significant stuff. We, we are on the marsh and our community is doing very, very well and we're very, very supportive.
Richard Perno - 7SD (05:19):
And that brings a whole bunch of, of other issues, doesn't it, Greg, for George Town Accommodation parks, schools more shops more spend in the town, doesn't it?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (05:30):
Yeah. And you know, just remind everybody, we're a fantastic and a very, very exciting place to live. Livability is something that the local council is very focused on. I'll remind everybody that we are in the process of starting a tendering process to build a 20 million health and wellness and aquatic center, which makes us again, you know, just adds to our infrastructure around livability. And we've got fantastic schooling, good housing stock, and a very, very beautiful location. So it's a compelling place to come and live. And also a really, really competitive local hospital. So you're in the market and you're thinking about where to go. Okay. Come up to George Town and have a look.
Richard Perno - 7SD (06:08):
Ah, you're a good salesman, Greg. You, you're terrific on that, on that town. When's the first sod you was already, already happened. When, when are you cutting the ribbons? It's already happened. Really? Yeah. Yeah. When, when are you gonna cut the ribbon and say we now declare it open? Or will it be in stages?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (06:24):
It is a, so the Line Hydrogen plant is modular and then again you know, from line hydrogen perspective, it's in the interest to make sure that the capacity keeps in step as the local demand of the market develops. Yeah. They are converting some of their own, I think it's 20 B doubles is their initial fleet that they're converting to hydrogen vehicles. But I know there's strong interest across the state from you know, those who want to decarbonize to move towards hydrogen, particularly heavy vehicle fleets and diesel replacement. Yeah. so again, you know, it's it's all moving in the right direction. It will expand over time. But this is the first and most important step. And I just, again, I congratulate line hydrogen. Well done guys. It's a super effort.
Richard Perno - 7SD (07:08):
Is the mainland looking at you?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (07:11):
You bet. Yeah. The world is looking at us.
Richard Perno - 7SD (07:12):
Richard. Yeah. Yeah. You will. You will go to the mainland and the world with this, won't you?
Greg Kieser - George Town Mayor (07:17):
Look, Absolutely. You know, and, and most importantly, this confirms everything that the government has been saying for the better part of three, four years. You know, we are a very, very compelling the destination for hydrogen production. That's evidenced by the 140 million that we've been granted through both state and federal to build out our hydrogen hub. We will be a global player. There will be significant industry in be Bay and George Town will prosper and thrive, as will the economy of the North and Tasmania.
Richard Perno - 7SD (07:49):
Said it well, Greg Kieser, very proud mayor of George Town underway. Now visit and stay. That'll be the catch cry. Thank you for your time this morning. Let's stay in touch. Greg, congratulations to you and your team, and also to Lion and who came to the party. Thank you, Greg. Thank you. Have a good day.