Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 9, 2022 – Masdar Tribe Australia, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar and infrastructure advisory and development firm Tribe Infrastructure Group, has secured an AUD48.2 million grant from the Australian Government for its Maryvale Energy from Waste (EfW) project.
The funding will be used to construct the landmark EfW facility in the Latrobe Valley, located in the Gippsland region of Victoria. It will be adjacent to Opal Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of pulp and paper.
Once completed, the facility will recover energy from non-recyclable waste – approximately 325,000 tonnes per annum – that would otherwise go to landfill; it will reuse the extracted energy in the form of steam and electricity to power the mill.
The innovative combined heat and power solution for Maryvale is an Australian first with its high-efficiency solution and unique integration with the Maryvale Mill, enhancing the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.
Commenting on the grant, Edward Nicholas, General Manager of Masdar Tribe Australia, said: “We are pleased to secure the support of the Australian Government in our ambition to launch the country’s most innovative solution for the treatment of residual waste, along with our partners Opal and Veolia. Masdar Tribe Australia is committed to ongoing nationwide efforts to promote a circular economy. The Maryvale Energy from Waste project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 270,000 tonnes per annum and free up enough energy to power the equivalent of 50,000 homes.”
The grant forms part of the Australia’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative, where the government supports innovative efforts to promote local industry.
Aside from driving down emissions, the project is expected to generate more than 500 jobs across Victoria and 450 jobs in Gippsland during construction and more than 60 jobs once operational. Construction will begin in the second half of 2022.
Edward Nicholas added: “We thank the Commonwealth Government for supporting our innovative project, and we are pleased to be advancing such a meaningful partnership with the Gippsland community.”
In 2020, Masdar and Tribe established the joint venture to specifically develop EfW projects in Australia and provide solutions for some of the 27 million tonnes of waste landfilled annually.
The joint venture earlier announced other projects including the East Rockingham Waste to Energy project in Perth, which when completed will process 300,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste per year.
About Tribe Infrastructure Group
Tribe Infrastructure Group is an independent infrastructure financial advisor and project developer headquartered in Abu Dhabi and regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market. Tribe’s advisory and development solutions are designed to advance critical infrastructure needs of governments and the private sector, with a focus on providing sustainable solutions that enhance energy security and support the advancement of the communities in which it operates. As at 31 December 2021, Tribe had active advisory mandates with a combined value of projects more than USD11.5 billion and a development project portfolio worth more than USD2 billion.
Sydney, Australia, November 28, 2020: Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, and Tribe Infrastructure Group, an infrastructure advisory and development firm, will strengthen their collaboration in the deployment of utility-scale energy-from-waste (EfW) projects by establishing a joint venture in Australia.
The announcement was made by the Honorable Christopher Pyne, Former Australian Defence Minister, and His Excellency Abdullah Al Subousi, UAE Ambassador to Australia, alongside Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, and Peter McCreanor, Tribe CEO, during the inauguration of the Australia-United Arab Emirates Business Council, which took place in Sydney, Australia.
The aim of the JV company is to develop EfW projects across Australia, as well as to support the delivery and management of these projects.
“Tribe and Masdar have the distinction of being the first companies to ink contracts that actively engage in business activity in Australia as part of the Australia UAE Business Council. Australia and the UAE have very strong connections, and the joint venture agreement between Masdar and Tribe for turning waste into energy is only the beginning of the relationship that the two companies will have across Australia,” said Hon Pyne.
“This is an exciting day for both the United Arab Emirates and Australia. I have no doubt that the Council will do a great job in enhancing our bilateral relations,” said HE Al Subousi.
HE added: “Masdar has been a great champion of the energy-from-waste sector. We are honored to see Masdar and Tribe come together to establish a joint venture company and I hope this can pave the way for future collaboration in additional sectors.”
“The Australian energy-from-waste sector provides excellent potential in the long-term. The signing of this agreement is a reflection of Masdar’s global clean energy ambitions and will further support Australia’s roadmap towards a low-carbon future,” said Al Ramahi.
He added: “We are pleased to be strengthening our partnership with Tribe and we look forward to leveraging our local and international experience and world-leading expertise to advance the energy from waste sector in Australia, following our entry into the market earlier this year.”
Tribe’s McCreanor, said: “We are delighted to announce our long-term partnership with Masdar and look forward to delivering world-class clean energy infrastructure projects for the communities in which we operate. Energy from waste is safe, reliable and affordable and we’re pleased to be at the forefront of bringing this technology to Australia. We look forward to delivering sustainable waste management solutions that provide superior environmental outcomes and make sound economic sense.”
Each year approximately 27 million tonnes of waste is landfilled in Australia, the equivalent of filling 75 Olympic swimming pools, yet there are currently no utility-scale energy from waste plants operating in the country. Australia represents an attractive market for investment in the EfW as part of a widespread push to help decarbonize the Australian economy.
In January 2020, Masdar and Tribe announced that they had acquired a 40 percent stake in the East Rockingham Waste to Energy project in Perth, Western Australia.
Construction on the A$511 million greenfield facility, which is located in the Rockingham Industry Zone, 40 kilometres south of Perth, is ongoing and the plant is expected to be operational in late 2022.
When completed, East Rockingham WTE will process 300,000 tonnes per year of non-recyclable residual municipal, commercial and industrial waste and up to 30,000 tonnes of biosolids per year.
The facility will also recover approximately 70,000 TPA of bottom ash, which will be processed for use in roadbase and other construction materials. The facility will generate 29 megawatts (MW) of baseload renewable energy, enough to power more than 36,000 homes, and displace more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
In October 2020, Opal Australian Paper and SUEZ Australia and New Zealand announced that Masdar and Tribe have joined them as additional equity partners for the development of the Maryvale EfW facility in Victoria.
The Maryvale EfW project will divert approximately 325,000 tonnes of non-recyclable residual waste from landfill and reuse it to generate steam and electricity to replace natural gas and coal fired electricity. The project is aligned with Victoria’s circular economy policy and is expected to deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Masdar and Tribe are both founding members of the Australia United Arab Emirates Business Council, which was recently established to increase collaboration between the two countries. The Council is co-chaired by the Honorable Christopher Pyne, Former Australian Defence Minister, and Badr Al-Olama, Chairman of Strata Manufacturing and Executive Director of Aerospace at Mubadala Investment Company, Masdar’s shareholder.
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About Masdar
Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar is advancing the commercialization and deployment of renewable energy, sustainable urban development and clean technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, our mandate is to help maintain the UAE’s leadership in the global energy sector, while supporting the diversification of both its economy and energy sources for the benefit of future generations. Today, Masdar is active in more than 30 countries, including the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Egypt, Morocco, the UK, the US, Australia, Spain, Serbia, India, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and many more. www.masdar.ae
Contacts:
E-mail: press@masdar.ae
Tel enquiries in Arabic: +971 2 653 3333
Tel enquiries in English: +971 2 653 6014
For more information please visit: http://www.masdar.ae and connect: facebook.com/masdar.ae and twitter.com/masdar
About Tribe Infrastructure Group
Tribe Infrastructure Group is an independent infrastructure project finance firm headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with offices in Australia. Tribe provides infrastructure and utilities investment services to grantors, developers, investors and lenders, acting as advisor and co-development partner to meet the needs of the project. Tribe actively mobilises private capital to realise unique opportunities, harnessing its natural competencies in structuring and execution of projects to take early-stage investments through to successful financial close, construction and operation. Tribe focuses on energy from waste, district cooling and utilities in the Middle East, South-East Asia and Australia. www.tribeig.com.
On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $18 million in recoupable grant funding to develop Australia’s second large scale energy-from-waste plant in Western Australia.
The $511 million plant will be located in the Rockingham Industrial Zone, 40km south of Perth where it will reduce waste currently going to landfill and generate dispatchable electricity for the grid.
The East Rockingham Resource Recovery Facility is expected to process approximately 300,000 tonnes per year of residual waste from non-recyclable materials in the Perth metropolitan area to deliver 29 MW of baseload electricity capacity, enough to power more than 36,000 homes.
Long term waste supply agreements have been struck with local councils in the area, including the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council and the City of Cockburn. French waste management company Suez has also signed a long-term deal to supply up to 65,000 tonnes per annum of commercial and industrial residual waste. The project has entered into a power purchase agreement for 25MW of its capacity.
ACCIONA and HZI have been appointed to design and construct the facility. Suez and HZI will operate the facility under a 20 year operations and maintenance agreement. The facility will use moving grate combustion technology supplied by HZI. HZI’s technology has been installed in more than 600 projects worldwide and meets the most stringent environmental requirements.
The project is expected to employ 300 workers during construction, and up to 50 operations staff on an ongoing basis when complete.
The project has the ability to generate large scale generation certificates for eligible feedstock in accordance with Clean Energy Regulator requirements. The facility will also recover 70,000 tonnes of bottom ash which can be processed and used in road bases and other construction materials.
The facility will be built just a few kilometres away from the country’s first large scale waste to energy plant in Kwinana which is now under construction, and was also supported by ARENA.
ARENA Acting CEO Nicola Morris said energy from waste projects represent a significant opportunity in growing Australia’s bioenergy sector, which is the focus of a roadmap being developed by ARENA.
“As the second state-of-the-art energy from waste facility in the country, East Rockingham represents a progression along the pathway towards commercialisation for the sector. The project will be delivered by a consortium with global expertise which will drive competition in the Australian market. We expect this project to demonstrate that large scale metropolitan energy-from-waste plants are now a bankable asset class in Australia,” Ms Morris said.
“Furthermore, the recycling and waste-reduction efforts of local councils and other residual waste providers are supported by the “waste-arising” contractual structure, which is a key commercial innovation of the project”.
New Energy Corporation Chairman Enzo Gullotti said the waste-arising model meant that councils would only pay for the capacity they used and would not be penalised if they successfully implemented waste reduction schemes.
“This is a win for the environment and represents real value for money for ratepayers who will be protected from the rising cost of landfill, particularly through the State’s landfill levy,” Mr Gullotti said.
Tribe was engaged as financial and commercial advisor to Masdar (a joint project sponsor) for the full duration of the project, from concept stage, through feasibility study, procurement and up to financial close.
Tribe was mandated by Masdar to assist with commercial and financial aspects of developing the first municipal solid waste facility in the UAE. Tribe’s mandate included:
Initial concept development and feasibility study, including determination of the appropriate size of facility and technology selection
Assistance with management of other advisors, including technical, legal, environmental and insurance advisors;
Development of appropriate commercial structure to ensure the bankability of the project;
Financial modelling and business case development;
Drafting of key commercial and financial aspects of project documents, including the waste supply agreement, power purchase agreement, and design, build and operate agreement;
Representing Masdar in the negotiation of key agreements with counterparties;
Representing Masdar in negotiation of the financing agreements with lenders, and interfacing with the lender’s advisors (lenders technical, legal and insurance advisors); and
Assisting the Masdar Project Manager with reports and presentations required for internal approval at Steering Committee and Investment Committee level.
The objective of the project was to structure and deliver the first waste to energy facility in the UAE, and the first project financed waste to energy facility in the Middle East
This was successfully completed with signing of the finance documents in July 2018.
