Recovery Looks Like This. Immediate, Real-World Impacts of Supporting
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Recovery looks like this. Immediate, real-world impacts of supporting Australia’s clean future industries. To accompany Bioenergy Australia’s recent proposal for a series of economic stimulus measures for clean energy and bio industries, we have gathered a sample of real-world projects to highlight prospective impacts of stimulus measures. These projects, identified by our members, are all shovel ready and can be quickly deployed under the right conditions. Queensland Glycell Biorefinery stage 1 The project: 100,000 dry tonne per year biomass input Estimated capital ~AUD$200 million Impact of stimulus: Support second generation technologies and provide momentum and funding to get the project progressed. Anticipated outcomes: » 60 direct plus 264 indirect jobs » GHG advantaged carbohydrate feedstocks for advance biofuels and/or chemicals. This leads to emissions reduction and valorisation of agricultural biomass streams not available today. 60 direct plus 264 indirect jobs Mt Alexander Bioenergy, community bioenergy project, VIC The project: Anticipated outcomes: 1MWe (biogas) and 6MWt (biomass) with capital cost » Approximately 22-30 jobs created for stage 1. of approx. $20m. This project embraces a circular » Annual emission reduction is 88,000 tCO2e (based on ARENA LCA methodology) for stage 1 economy approach with closed loop and zero waste design principles. It is a behind-the-meter project and increasing proportionately as stage 2 and 3 develop. for a large regional food processing facility (Dons) » Boosting regional economy, environmental outcomes through reduced waste to landfill, that employs around 1600 people. upskilling of staff, energy security and demonstrating how circular economy principles can be embodied and delivered via a closed loop model. Impact of stimulus: Financial stimulus would get this project up and running. The biggest barrier to projects of this nature seeing the light of day is being able to bridge the pre-financial close gap. Community initiatives such as this have tremendous value however communities have no balance sheet and need seed capital to do the up-front development work (feasibility study, business case, regulatory approvals, engineering design and construct and seeking investor financing). The independently commissioned business case is very robust (ROI ~16%) and a signed Terms Sheet (with George Weston Foods [at Dons Smallgoods manufacturing facility, Castlemaine]), which includes a power purchase agreement and waste supplier off take agreement. This is an exemplar project in every sense albeit without the bridging funds to complete the regulatory approval stage and EPC tendering and design work, the project is at risk. The proposed stimulus measures would have a tremendously positive impact and help get this project underway. Approx 22-30 jobs created Energy from Waste Commercial Demonstration Plant – Moving Injection Horizontal Gasification (MIHG) The project: 4,000 tpa C&D waste, producing 400kWe gross electricity; circa 360 kWe net. A pioneering small-scale waste to energy project using Australian owned and invented MIHG technology, developed in Queensland and proven in pilot plant. Technology has been developed specifically for regional centres and outer urban localities which do not produce sufficient waste for conventional waste to energy technologies, and can process a wide range of waste types, including C&D, C&I, MSW and biosolids. Project is platform for further expansion to circa 50,000 tpa and is flexible enough to produce hydrogen. Impact of stimulus: Project financing would get project off the ground. Proposed targets would support take up. Opportunity to export technology globally, once MIHG commercial demonstration project is in operation. Anticipated outcomes: » Creation of 20 construction jobs and approximately 9 ongoing operational jobs. » 4,000 tpa of C&D waste diverted from landfill and circa 4,000 tpa of CO2eq emissions avoided Dispatchable, from landfill. » Dispatchable, baseload electricity. Production of 2,560,000 kWh/yr of renewable electricity, enough to power 500 homes. baseload » Opportunity for >300 similar plants around Australia, processing 8 mtpa of waste (C&I, MSW, agriculture, forestry and livestock wastes, biosolids & greenwaste), producing circa 800 MWe renewable of dispatchable electricity and generating revenues of over $1 billion/yr. » Further potential to produce renewable hydrogen for use in transport and in natural gas grid at prices already competitive with solar and electrolysis. electricity of 2,560,000 kWh/yr Biomass supply chain project The project: Focussing on immediate market opportunities to link current forest management residue to energy production demands in Queensland through the development of a sustainable biomass supply chains required for immediate and sustained regional development in bioenergy and biobased product industries. Impact of stimulus: Financial stimulus would allow development and deployment of efficient, sustainable and profitable biomass supply chains from private forest thinning and management activities. Anticipated outcomes: » Jobs: • Direct new supply chains jobs (year 0 to 3) – 75 to 200 • Direct end user jobs energy plant (year 0 to 3) – 15 to 30 • Indirect jobs in the region (year 0 to 3) – 400 to 600 Convert 50+ • Long term retained industry (forest products and renewable energy) – 500+ • Speculative future new biobased product industries – 200+ tonnes per » Convert 50+ tonnes per hectare of wood waste to biomass for bioenergy and bioproducts » Replace up to 500GW of coal fired electricity generation with renewable bioenergy hectare of production » Regional economic development with new biomass supply chain industries from current waste and establishment of resource supply for emerging innovative biobased product wood waste industries in regional Queensland » Increased regional activity around renewable energy production through existing to biomass for infrastructure » Improved sustainable future for the Queensland hardwood sawmill industry bioenergy and bioproducts Hunter Energy, Redbank Anaerobic Power Station, NSW digester projects The project: The project: Hunter Energy is converting the 151MW Redbank Power Station to operate 77,000 GJ of biogas which will be converted to 11,000 MWh of electricity on 100% biomass as the cornerstone to the Redbank Green Energy Park. from 15,000 tonnes of secured feedstock. We also have over 100 tonnes of Redbank plans to operate on waste biomass from recycling plants and forests recoverable phosphorus and 86 tonnes of potassium. both of which are eligible fuels under the Renewable Energy Act. Producing on average 1 Million MW hours per year, when fully operational Redbank will supply power to approximately 200- 250,000 homes. Impact of stimulus: Stimulus would provide the right signal for us to develop a runway of projects up to an investment amount of over $100M. This would account for approximately Impact of stimulus: 25 projects in Victoria using waste streams that are currently unregulated. The power station, which is in care and maintenance, is shovel ready. Financial investment in the form of grants or a loan is required to get the project off the ground. Anticipated outcomes: » Jobs: 10 consultants for regulatory approvals and detailed design Anticipated outcomes: works for civil and structural features. » Individual projects will employ 10 full time construction workers » We will create 250-300 immediate jobs, which could lead to a to perform civil, structural, mechanical and electrical works and further 800 jobs in the biomass supply chain. once commissioned we will have three full time workers. If we can develop projects concurrently with the amount of finance available, we are looking at a multiplier in the number of jobs we can create. » The area of dairy pasture that can utilise that amount of nutrient is over 5,000 hectares. Our project site is adjacent to a major poultry and dairy farming area in Gippsland with a 38,000 ha irrigation scheme. We are not removing jobs within the agricultural sector by recycling nutrients, we are transitioning to a more skilled workforce that have a more direct understanding of their products they are managing. 250-300 Scalable immediate jobs project Altus Pellet Mill, Saputo, Millicent, SA Smithton, TAS The project: The project: $70m - $80m, biomass energy conversion project. $9m, biomass energy conversion project. Impact of stimulus: Impact of stimulus: Fastrack project/project viability. This is a world-class harvesting residue to Fastrack project/project viability. Increasing the profitability, viability and pellet project, bringing additional jobs to the SW corner of South Australia sustainability of a large export-orientated food manufacturer located in a and redefining the renewable energy economy in that part of the world. This Regional part of Tasmania. project is establishing long-term jobs in the renewable energy sector that will have impacts well beyond Australia itself by exporting 300,000t/year of wood pellets for industry overseas. Anticipated outcomes: » Direct employees = 40 – 50. Anticipated outcomes: » 10,000t/year of CO2e offset. » Direct employees, 30 – 40 + the transportation, harvesting and logistical staff, so all up around 100 - 120. » 55,000tons/year of CO2e offset just through their own energy consumption, an additional 200,000t/CO2e offset through the export of their material. 30 - 40 40 - 50 direct jobs direct jobs Cargill Oilseeds, Tyre Kooragang Island, NSW Derived Asphalt The project: