The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $23 million in funding to develop an Australian-first energy-from-waste project in Western Australia which will reduce waste going to landfill.
Co-developed by Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited and Phoenix Energy Australia Pty Ltd, the $668 million facility will be located in the Kwinana Industrial Area, 40 kilometres south of Perth. The facility will recover energy from waste, delivering approximately 36 Megawatts (MW) of baseload electricity capacity – enough to power 50,000 households, and will divert up to 400,000 tonnes per year of municipal solid waste from non-recyclable curbside collection.
The project has gained approval from the WA Environmental Protection Authority and will produce an ash by-product which is commonly used as road base or in building and construction in Europe. The Kwinana energy-from-waste facility will be owned by a consortium including Macquarie and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF), built by Acciona and operated by Veolia. Construction is expected to commence this month and will be finalised by the end of 2021, generating over 800 jobs during construction and 60 full-time jobs once operational.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project provides a renewable energy solution for reducing waste going to landfill.
“The use of combustion grate technology is well established in Europe and North America but has not yet been deployed in Australia,” Mr Miller explained.
“More than 23 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is produced annually in Australia and this project could help to divert non-recyclable waste from landfill and recover energy in the process,” he said.
Macquarie Capital Executive Director Chris Voyce said the project is an example of the public and private sectors coming together to deliver a long-term solution to dual issues of dealing with the ever-growing pressures on landfill and generating low-carbon energies that are sustainable and reliable.
“We look forward to working with our team of financiers, and design, construction and operation specialists as we deliver this significant project for the community,” Mr Voyce commented.
More information on the project can be found here.
