The Energy from Waste (EfW) facility will generate energy from the controlled combustion of non-hazardous residual waste materials. The project will reduce Victoria’s net CO2 emissions by an estimated 270,000 tonnes annually.
Apr 3, 2024
Australia’s leading packaging and paper company, Opal, has formed a consortium with Veolia and Masdar Tribe Australia to develop a USD 600 million Energy from Waste (EfW) facility at its Maryvale Mill site in Latrobe Valley, which will generate energy from the controlled combustion of non-hazardous residual waste materials – waste that would otherwise go to landfill.
After the combustion, the facility will capture and convert the released heat into steam and electricity, with sophisticated filtering technology ensuring compliance with stringent stack emissions standards.
Stage 1 of the project will reduce Victoria’s net CO2 emissions by an estimated 270,000 tonnes annually. It will also create additional employment opportunities for around 1500 people in the next three years.
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The state-of-the-art EfW facility will use non-recyclable residual waste to produce steam and electricity to supply the Mill. It will feature world-class, leading technology providing superior reliability, compliance to stringent emissions standards, superior energy efficiency and is targeting more than 99 percent diversion of waste away from landfill, consistent with circular economy principles.
The EfW facility will provide energy as steam or electricity and will be able to interchange between the two during the plant’s operation, providing improved flexibility and efficiency. Any excess energy will be fed into the Victorian grid.
The Victorian government recently handed the licence to the consortium for building and managing the power plant.
The Maryvale Mill is Australia’s largest integrated fine paper-making and packaging papers complex, producing more than 500,000 tonnes of paper every year. Veolia, which already operates 65 EfW facilities around the world, will operate and maintain the facility. It is a leading provider of environmental solutions across water and wastewater services, industrial cleaning, waste management, and resource recovery & energy services.
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Masdar Tribe Australia is a strategic partnership between two pioneering sustainable energy developers, Masdar and Tribe Infrastructure, developing Clean Energy projects in Australia.
Energy recovery through the proposed facility is an important source of renewable, sustainable energy and a vital link in the waste management chain.
