The Australian tycoon with designs on U.S. coal mines

Aug 10, 2022 View in browser   By Ryan Heath VERBATIM Andrew Forrest wants to bring green jobs to Sen. Joe Manchin's district. | Courtesy Fortescue Future Industries  Andrew Forrest, Australia's richest man (second-richest person) and the founder of Fortescue Future Industries, a global green energy company, sees the Inflation Reduction Act as critical to turning America's coal-fired power-plants into green hydrogen plants. His interest? Forrest's first green project on U.S. soil is set to be a conversion of Washington's Centralia coal mine into a green hydrogen facility. But Fortescue also has its sights set on Manchin territory: West Virginia. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The U.S. has flip-flopped on climate policy before. What's your level of trust in climate aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act, and where does it come from? My trust comes from speaking to hardcore coal industry leaders, hearing their reactions. I tell them this bill gives you a plan B for your coal-fired power stations. This act could lead West Virginia, and other heavy industrial states, to become the green energy superpowers of the globe. And they listen? I just got off the phone to one of them. They look at me very much as one of them, right? I'm from their background, and I speak in black and white industrial language. So I tell them coal will come to an end, and that unless we back this bill, there's no way out for your family and every other person's family who works on those coal plants. I've explained to, say, Joe Craft — a legendary Trump-aligned, heavy-duty coal guy — that you and your employees are not married to coal. You're actually married to employment, family, community, making a difference and creating energy. You're married to energy, not coal. And [then] the lights come on. Does this act make your investment case for green hydrogen? And is it enough to ensure America's green energy transition?  The Inflation Reduction Act hits about the right note. It could go higher, it could be broader, but it is one hell of a good start. It will cover a lot of the initial operating cost [of the transition], and it's simple. Simplicity always wins. There are more attractive regimes in Europe — which basically guarantee you no loss or a profit — but they're complicated mechanisms. Coal-fired power stations have all the linkages in and out, as well as approvals to produce power — that's important too. What do you make of the states standing to benefit most from a coal to hydrogen transition tending to be more rural or Republican-leaning? Those Republican rural communities have been sold this rubbish line of "it's either coal or doom." The real doom for them is if the world goes off and does something else and leaves them behind. The only difference between a coal-fired power plant and one reconfigured to green hydrogen is you will need more people to run those plants. Biden put jobs at the center of his climate messaging. Does the messenger actually need to be someone with a track record of creating jobs? It's a bloody good point. I think I can deliver that message much stronger, because I'm not a politician. I'm not looking for votes, this is the hardcore reality. I've met with coal-fired power station workers in West Virginia. When I stand in front of them, I'm a person who's employed 23,000 people from scratch, and I can walk amongst them [his employees] anywhere, and they'll all know my name, and buy me a beer or I buy them a beer. I'm not some fat cat, and they can see that. I can say to them we're not going to be able to use your [existing] career. But everything else we can really use: your energy, your innovation, your character. We're going to re-train you into this. They don't want to hear "we're shutting this down and we're gonna bank the carbon credits" or "we're going to make a buck on Wall Street and see you later." But that's what they've been hearing. So my job is to say "do not fear the green industrial revolution — it needs more people like us." What do U.N. climate negotiations get wrong, and where should they go instead?  That's easy. I'd ask all those negotiators to speak and look through the lens of employment. Talk about employment and the beauty of hydrogen and ammonia and green ethanol and green aviation fuels, and turning trucks, ships, and trains green. I've automated a mining company. In miles, Fortescue Metals Group machines have been to the moon and back 150 times, fully autonomously. It could have been absolutely devastating for all those drivers: Four drivers for every truck, thrown out of work. We lost no one. We employed 8,000 people when we started automating, and we employed 16,000 when we finished. We didn't make money on chopping heads, we made money on efficiency, which gave us growth. There's nowhere in the world where you have automation and high tech, without high employment. Run climate messages through employment, and people will listen.   INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY .     YOU TELL US GAME ON — Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott , deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Lorraine Woellert and Jordan Wolman . Reach us all at gmott@politico.com , dkahn@politico.com , lwoellert@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com . Want more? Don't we all. Sign up for the Long Game . Four days a week and still free! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — Trade associations are pushing back on state-level efforts to protect workers from extreme heat, the Washington Post reports . — Sierra Leone just passed pioneering new environmental laws that give residents veto power over industrial, mining and agricultural projects, the NYT reports . — The United Nations Development Program is torn between treating oil companies as partners or polluters — NYT has a deep dive . — Lyft Inc. is trying to "surf the EV wave" by pouring millions into a California ballot initiative to raise income taxes.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today .       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Lorraine Woellert @Woellert Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman   Follow us

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