Image credit: Macquarie Capital​​INVESTMENT PRIORITY: Improving energy productivity

LEAD ORGANISATION: Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited

ARENA FUNDING: $23.0 million

TOTAL PROJECT COST: $696.0 million

LOCATION: Kwinana, WA

Up to a quarter of Perth’s post-recycling rubbish will be diverted from landfill to generate energy as a result of the Kwinana Energy from Waste Project, which is currently under construction.

The Kwinana plant will be the first thermal utility-scale energy from waste facility in Australia and is on track to be completed by the end of 2021. It will use non-recyclable materials from local councils in the Perth metropolitan area under long-term waste supply agreements, but also be able to process commercial, industrial, construction and demolition waste.

The moving grate technology used in the facility thermally treats (or heats) the waste and converts the recovered energy into steam to produce electricity. Metallic materials are recovered and recycled, while other byproducts can be reused as construction materials.

Co-developed by Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited and Phoenix Energy Australia Pty Ltd, the facility will create more than 800 jobs during construction, and more than 60 full-time positions once operational.

HOW THIS PROJECT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

When complete, the Kwinana Energy from Waste facility will divert 400,000 tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste from landfill each year to generate energy, recover and recycle metals, and re-purpose the remaining ash residue as construction materials.

The facility is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 400,000 tonnes per year, which is equivalent to taking 85,000 cars off the road. It will also export up to 36 MW of electricity to the local grid each year, sufficient to power more than 50,000 households.