Masdar, Tribe joint venture secures AUD48.2 million grant from Australian government for Maryvale Energy from Waste facility

Masdar, Tribe joint venture secures AUD48.2 million grant from Australian government for Maryvale Energy from Waste facility

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.

ARENA announces grant to East Rockingham WtE Project

ARENA announces grant to East Rockingham WtE Project

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.

Developed by New Energy CorporationHitachi Zosen Inova Australia (HZI) and Tribe Infrastructure Group (Tribe), the facility will be owned by a consortium of co-investors including John LaingHZI and ACCIONA. The project has also received up to $57.5 million in subordinated debt from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

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.