The Sahara Forest Project is a Norwegian limited liability company that develops and operates large scale facilities for vegetable production in arid areas, integrated with revegetation of surrounding lands driven by renewables. In 2017 the Sahara Forest Project signed an agreement with the City of Karrratha, The Pilbara Development Commission and Yara to explore project opportunities in Karratha, Australia. Following the initiation of this project, a broad analysis has been conducted.
The report first presents a comprehensive business case for a first stage Sahara Forest Project facility at a specific site in Karratha, including investment and operations strategies for addressing the local/regional market.
The business case is designed and calculated around two scenarios:
•A small facility of 6 hectares which includes 2 hectares of greenhouses, a 1.5 hectares PV park, 2 hectares outdoor growing areas, in addition to pack house/storage, desalination unit and other infrastructure. This facility focuses on local market with a range of integrated industrial synergies and a strong collaboration with local aboriginal groups as well as local authorities.
• A large facility of 60 hectares which includes 20 hectares of greenhouses, a 15 hectares PV park, 20 hectares outdoor growing areas in addition to pack house/storage, desalination unit and other infrastructure. This facility is depicted with Karratha as a base for regional Western Australia sales and international exports.
Preliminary calculations indicate a modest return from building and operating a small facility catered to local and regional demand. With the local market not being large enough to support a 2 hectare greenhouse mono crop, some regional sales would be required and/or multicrop production initiated. This positive return assumes government support for the common user infrastructure interfaces.
Even though a larger facility could yield a stronger return (contingent on favourable logistics costs and a comprehensive off-take agreement), the preferred option is to start the roll-out of The Sahara Forest Project in the Pilbara with the smaller scale facility. The strategy would then be to roll it out to larger scale in Karratha and elsewhere in Pilbara when the concept has been established and proven its success on the ground in Karratha.
The report further shows that several attractive industrial synergies are available in Karratha. In particular, the initiative of a comprehensive Ecohub co-operation has created interest.
The Ecohub would deliver synergistic benefits of water and energy to several of the industrial stakeholders in Karratha, and shows that combined efforts could increase the competitiveness of each of the players. Pilbara is a region that currently is experiencing industrial and social changes, and public and private initiatives alike are set out to adapt to the changes.
This report concludes with a positive answer to the feasibility of establishing Sahara Forest Project in Karratha - it is an opportunity for value creation that can benefit both the investors of the business venture, the society and the environment.