Jerrara Power is proposing to develop, build and operate energy from waste facilities on the Eastern Seaboard of Australia.
Residual waste, not suitable for recycling, would be sourced locally and from surrounding areas and transported to the facility where the waste would be thermally processed at high temperatures using a grate combustion technology.
The heat from combustion would boil water to create steam. The steam will drive a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity. This power would be used to power homes and businesses.
Once fully operational, a facility would create an average of 30 megawatts of power per annum. This is enough electricity to power around 43,000 homes (based on an average residential home in NSW using 5,100kWh per year[1]).
[1] Monitoring the Electricity Retail Market 2019–2020, Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal
Indicative energy from waste facility proposed by Jerrara Power
Waste delivery and storage
1 Delivery hall
2 Waste bunker
3 Waste crane
Combustion and boiler
4 Feed hopper
5 Ram feeder
6 HZI moving grate
7 Superheater
8 Economiser
9 Primary air
10 Secondary air
11 Five-pass boiler
Flue gas treatment
12 Activated carbon silo
13 HZI SemiDry sorption process
14 Fabric filter
15 Induced draught fan
16 Silencer
17 Stack (emits CO2 and steam)
18 Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction
Energy recovery
19 Feed water system
20 Turbine
21 Air-cooled condenser
22 Transformer
23 Electrical power generation
Residue handling and treatment
24 Bottom ash extractor
25 Boiler and fly ash extraction
26 Bottom ash treatment plant
27 Residue silos
Fast facts
Waste conversion
Energy from waste (also known as waste to energy) is the conversion of residual waste into energy using a thermal process
Proven Technology
Energy from waste is a proven technology with hundreds of facilities in production across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia
Diverting Waste
Energy from waste processes residual waste, not suitable for recycling, that would otherwise end up in landfill
Power generation
Energy from waste can generate reliable baseload electricity to power homes and businesses
Emissions Profile
Energy from waste has a superior emissions profile – displacing carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from coal-fired electrical generation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfill
Job creation
The plant would create 300 direct construction jobs and 60 full-time ongoing jobs
Frequently asked questions
Overview
Jerrara Power Pty Ltd is the operating company for the energy from waste proposal and is 100% owned by Jerrara Holdings Pty Ltd.
Jerrara Holdings is a privately held Australian company, majority owned by large-scale Australian Family Offices which have both (i) long-term investment horizons and (ii) a mandate to invest in socially responsible infrastructure projects.
ABN 77 642 650 440
The details
Energy from waste, sometimes called waste to energy, refers to the conversion of residual waste into energy. There are two types of energy from waste – thermal and biological. Our proposed facility would use a thermal process.
It works by thermally processing at high temperature residual household, commercial and industrial waste that is not suitable for recycling.
The heat from combustion would boil water to create steam. The steam will turn turbine-driven generators to produce electricity. This power is used to provide electricity to homes and businesses.
There are two energy from waste facilities under construction in Western Australia at Kwinana and East Rockingham. There are also two approved for construction in Victoria at Laverton North and Maryvale.
There are energy from waste facilities proposed or in the planning and environmental assessment phase in NSW.
The combustion technology we propose to use is extensively used in the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Despite our community’s increasing efforts at reducing, reusing and recycling waste, we still have a lot of residual waste in Australia that has to be landfilled. We know that, over time, more wastes will become commercially viable for recycling but, at the moment, about 7 million tonnes from all of NSW goes to landfill each year.
Energy from waste facilities bridge the gap between the capability of existing recycling systems and the introduction of future systems that will divert a greater proportion of household, commercial and industrial waste from landfill.
Energy from waste also produces reliable baseload electricity. This supports intermittent renewable energy generators such as wind and solar that rely on weather and offsets the use of other unsustainable energy sources like coal-fired power stations.
We are working with Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to design a facility that meets international best practice. HZI is a global leader in energy from waste design engineering technology.
One of HZI’s designs is under construction at East Rockingham in Western Australia. Our facility would look very similar.
No. Recycling is an important part of waste management, along with avoiding, reusing and reducing waste. The facility would only take residual waste from which recyclable materials have already been separated. This is consistent with the waste hierarchy which underpins State and Federal based Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery policy.
The NSW Government’s Energy from Waste Policy also limits the proportion of waste that can be used to produce energy, to promote recycling. The facility would comply with the NSW and QLD Energy from Waste Policies.
By way of example, in 2020/21, NSW produced 22 million tonnes of waste and about 7.5 million tonnes of that ended up in landfill. The Proposal would divert up to 380,000 tonnes of this waste that is otherwise destined for landfill.
Yes. Thermally processing residual waste at high temperatures creates two types of ash – bottom ash and flue gas treatment residue.
Bottom ash is the non-combustible residue of combustion and is coarse and granular. Ferrous and non-ferrous materials are extracted from bottom ash using magnets and eddy-current. Ferrous metals contain iron and include steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, cast iron and wrought iron. Non-ferrous metals include aluminium, copper, lead, zinc and tin. The metals are extracted for recycling, while the remaining residual material from the bottom ash would be processed to produce materials that will be used in various civil work applications.
Flue gas treatment residue is fine particulate matter that rises with the combustion gases. The flue gas treatment residue is captured through pollution control equipment, which ensure compliance with the emissions limits. The residues captured are wetted down and collected for disposal in landfill.
Flue gas treatment residue is generally not able to be recycled and needs to be disposed to an appropriate landfill. The residue will be transported off the site by suitable trucks.
Processing waste at high temperatures generates two types of ash – bottom ash and flue gas treatment residue.
From the 380,000 tonnes of waste process each year, approximately 86,000 tonnes will remain as bottom ash and 12,000 tonnes will remain as flue gas treatment residue. The 86,000 tonnes of bottom ash is non-toxic and will be processed to be reused in various civil work applications.
The 12,000 tonnes of flue gas treatment residue will be transported off site and disposed of in landfill suitable for this material.
The environment
None. While a detailed investigation will be undertaken to ensure there are no impacts to human health, modern energy from waste facilities are built to strict emission standards.
State based policy such as the NSW Energy from Waste Policy and QLD Energy from Waste Policy aim to ensure proposals like ours result in minimal risk of harm to human health and the environment. The Policies require energy from waste facilities to demonstrate they will be using current international best practice techniques.
A detailed greenhouse gas assessment will be undertaken as part of the environmental assessment process, however, a preliminary assessment indicates a 380,000 tonne plant would result in a net reduction in Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by:
- displacing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal-fired electrical generation (equivalent to the 30 MW generated by the facility) – estimated to be 228,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent
- avoiding methane emissions that would have arisen if 380,000 tonnes per year of waste treated in the facility were instead placed in landfill - estimated to be 585,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
The emissions generated by combustion of 380,000 tonnes per year of waste (estimated to be 240,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent) would offset these savings. There would also be emissions from vehicles used to transport the waste to the plant (estimated to be 4,600 tonnes of CO2).
These approximate figures suggest the proposal has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 568,400 tonnes per year. Depending upon the assumptions made, this is equivalent to taking 123,000 cars off the road.
The design and height of the stack will be developed by HZI and Jerrara Power during the preparation of the EIS. The stack will emit carbon dioxide and steam and its plume will not be visible except as “heat haze”.
Modern energy from waste facilities have sophisticated emission control systems. The emission control systems are designed to remove the dioxins and furans, and other halogenated plastics combustion by products.
The gases released from the waste in the facility will be mixed with secondary air and recirculated flue gases above the grate. This assures complete combustion and minimises carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions. This assures complete combustion and minimises carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions.
Flue gases are then cleaned to the strictest standards and are continuously monitored before they are released at the stacks as water vapour (steam) and carbon dioxide. The air cleaning processes proposed for our facility include technologies called Wet-Scrubber and Semi-Dry.
State Government approval processes asses the emissions from any EfW facility for human health impacts. For example, the NSW EPA will assess the predicted emissions from a facility against the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2010 and the European requirements under the Industrial Emissions Directive.
Yes. Emissions of particulate matter are controlled through a baghouse and would be continuously monitored to ensure compliance with state and federal standards. Data from our air quality monitoring locations will be available on our website and other locations in accordance with any EPA requirements.
Air monitoring equipment will be installed in accordance with the development consent, if approved, and the Environmental Protection Licence.
Data from our air quality monitoring locations will be available in real-time on our website and other locations in accordance with any EPA requirements.
The emissions modelling, which will be undertaken during development of the EIS, will consider the various atmospheric conditions prevailing on and around the site in accordance to the regulation applicable to such modelling.
The facility will have a comprehensive set of operating controls covering all possible scenarios. In case of operating malfunction that would negatively impact emissions, the operating parameters of the facility will be adjusted to ensure compliance with the emission criteria. The ultimate control would be the shut down of the facility.
The facility will have a comprehensive set of operating controls covering all possible scenarios. In case of operating malfunction that would negatively impact emissions the operating parameters of the plant will be adjusted to ensure compliance with the emission criteria. The ultimate control would be the shut down of the plant.
The law gives power to the regulator to impose penalties and/or restrictive measures if operations are not compliant with the development consent and the EPL.
No. While the waste we transport to the facility for processing does smell, our trucks are fully enclosed to keep odours locked inside. The trucks will be driven inside the tipping hall to tip the waste into a bunker ready for processing. This tipping hall is kept under negative pressure which causes air to be drawn in from outside and prevent bad smells from escaping.
At no point will there be waste stored outside.
The facility will have lighting to ensure the safety of operators and the security of the facility at night. The lighting will be designed to ensure any light spill is minimal and does not illuminate beyond what is necessary.
The design and height of the facility including the stack will be developed by HZI and Jerrara Power during the preparation of the EIS. The layout of the site will in part determined by what will be visible from the road and other vantage points.
As part of the environmental assessment process, we need to consider how the facility would impact on the visual amenity of our neighbours. This includes assessing what can be seen from the road and what our neighbours would be able to see from their homes. This would inform the design and help determine what landscaping is required at the site.
Construction and operation of the facility is likely to generate increased noise close to the proposal site. These impacts would be associated with noise associated with the plant and equipment.
A noise impact assessment for the construction and operation of the facility will be undertaken as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment.
Strategies will be developed for managing construction and operational noise and vibration. Any anticipated noise impacts during construction or operation will be communicated to the community.
The water source will be site specific and subject to engineering investigation.
At this stage we have no plans to sink any bores as part of our proposal.
While we process waste at the site, it is not a landfill. All waste will be stored and processed inside the facility which means the need for site rehabilitation will be limited to the facility's footprint.
At the end of its operating and useful life the facility could be repurposed, if possible and permitted to do so, or it will be decommissioned and deconstructed.
Jerrara Power will bear the full cost of decommissioning and deconstruction.
The community
The proposal would increase local employment, procurement and training opportunities – both during construction and operation. Some 300 direct jobs will be created during construction as well as many indirect jobs plus 60 full-time jobs during the 25 years of operation.
Beyond being integrated into the local economy, Jerrara Power is also proposing a range of community benefits that will include indigenous traineeships, emergency response vehicles for community use, an education centre, community grants and sponsorship opportunities.
This is a commercial matter. Where possible it is intended the electricity generated would be directed to businesses creating jobs in the local community.
Jerrara Power is committed to engaging with the community and other stakeholders throughout the planning and assessment process. There will be opportunities for people to have their say about various issues during scoping, preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and when the EIS is placed on public exhibition.
There is no current way of determining this.
Construction
Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) has delivered more than 600 projects worldwide and provide complete turnkey plants and system solutions for thermal energy from waste and other facilities.
HZI designed and is building the East Rockingham Energy Recovery Facility under construction in Western Australia. Our facility will be a similar (if not identical) technical specification to this facility, although the layout may be slightly different to suit the particular site characteristics.
The project is expected to generate employment for up to 300 people during construction (during peak site activity).
Wherever possible, local suppliers will be contracted to provide services and goods for the project. You can register your interest in being a supplier here.
Operations
We are proposing to process waste continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The administration and waste education centre would operate between 9am and 5pm weekdays.
These hours are subject to approval.
The proposal would create 60 local jobs plus drivers during operation over three shifts.
We expect the facility to operate for at least 25 years.
The planning and assessment process
The process varies from state to state. All states require a rigorous planning and environmental review. We will work with the technical experts to identify the possible environmental, economic and social impacts of any project.
An important part of any approval process is talking to the community and other stakeholders to hear what concerns they have about any project. We will also be asking our community how they want to get involved, how they want to be communicated with and how we can ensure everyone who wants to has a chance to participate.
For example in NSW a project requires a Scoping Report, which includes information from the community and is provided to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE). The DPIE will use this information to issue what’s called SEARs (Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements). This will tell us what we need to do to progress our proposal and what consultation is needed with the community and other stakeholders so we can lodge an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Jerrara Power is committed to engaging with the community and other stakeholders throughout any planning and assessment process. There will be opportunities for people to have their say about various issues during the planning and approvals process.
We encourage you to register for updates here.
You can also call us toll-free on 1800 519 542 or email us at hello@jerrarapower.com.au at any time.
