ARENA and CEFC are pro Waste to energyConstruction of an...

ARENA and CEFC are pro Waste to energy

Construction of an “Australian-first” energy-from-waste plant in Western Australia is set to go ahead, after winning the backing of both the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corp.

The $668 million facility, which is being co-developed by Macquarie Capital and Phoenix Energy Australia – and will be owned by a consortium including Macquarie and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF) – will be located in the Kwinana Industrial Area around 40km south of Perth.

Once completed, it will convert up to 400,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste into 36MW of “baseload electricity” – the federal government’s very favourite sort – enough to power 50,000 households, says ARENA.

The plant will also be capable of processing commercial and industrial waste and construction and demolition waste, from a range of sources including local councils in the Perth metropolitan area.

The project, which has the approval of the WA Environmental Protection Authority, has no reached financial close after securing $23 million in funding from ARENA, and up to $90 million in debt finance from the CEFC, it was revealed on Thursday.

It will also be able to generate large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) for eligible feedstock, in line with Clean Energy Regulator requirements.

According to various joint and separate announcements, the facility will be built by Acciona – with construction expected to begin this month and be completed by the end of 2021 – and operated by Veolia.

The moving grate technology behind the plant comes from Belgian company Keppel Seghers, which has not been seen in Australia before, but has been deployed in 100 waste-to-energy plants in 18 countries.

The project is expected to generate more than 800 jobs during construction and 60 full-time jobs once operational.

But not everyone is convinced that the technology – which offers a dual solution of baseload electricity from a low emissions intensity source, while addressing waste management issues – is all that environmentally sound.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-first-big-waste-to-energy-plant-reaches-financial-close-in-w-a-59064/