Construction of a proposed LNG import terminal in southern Australia has been approved by the regional government.
The AUD 250m ($180m) project will become the only LNG import facility in the state of South Australia and the first in the world to be powered by renewable energy.
Project backer Venice Energy said construction is expected to begin in the middle of this year and will take 12 to 14 months to complete and commission following financial close.
The first shipment of LNG into the terminal and connection to the South Australian gas network is anticipated around late 2023 to early 2024, it added.
"Through this terminal, we will open the state to the international gas market and diversify local gas supplies, especially during peak periods," Venice Energy managing director Kym Winter-Dewhirst said.
Last July, Venice Energy entered into a heads of agreement with Peter Livanos-backed LNG shipowner GasLog to supply a floating storage and regasification unit for the import terminal.
The Venice Energy project is one of five LNG-import terminals under development to help fill an expected shortfall in gas supply in south-east Australia from 2024 as output declines from the country's Bass Strait fields.
Australian Industrial Energy, which is backed by Squadron Energy, is planning an FSRU-type terminal project at Port Kembla in New South Wales.
Other projects include those by Australian power company Viva Energy and South Korean private equity firm EPIK, which is working with Hyundai LNG Shipping.
Dutch terminal operator Vopak is looking to build a facility in Port Phillip Bay in the state of Victoria and hopes to submit a proposal to the state government in the third quarter of this year.
However, one project has already bitten the dust, with AGL Energy pulling the plug on its FSRU-based LNG import project in the state of Victoria after local authorities rejected the plan due to environmental concerns.
