MILL'S ENERGY FROM WASTE MOVING AHEAD
The $600m Maryvale Energy from Waste (EfW) project has reached a major milestone, signing a multi-million-dollar engineering design agreement with Spanish infrastructure group Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios.
As Victoria’s most progressed EfW project, the Maryvale facility will target a 99 per cent diversion of residual waste away from landfill, generating approximately 500 jobs in the construction phase, and bringing a new energy sector to the Latrobe Valley.
Maryvale no longer manufactures printing or copy paper, the operation closed down a year ago when a judge ruled in favour of a local possum in areas that the mill's loggers were operating in, but it still produces packaging grades, with the timber coming from alternate sources.
The Maryvale EfW facility will generate energy from the controlled combustion of non-hazardous residual waste materials – waste that would otherwise go to landfill. Following 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.
EfW facilities can provide energy as steam or electricity and can interchange between the two during the plant’s operation, providing improved flexibility and efficiency. Any excess energy would be fed into the Victorian grid.
Global energy solutions company Babcock & Wilcox will partner with Cobra to provide the technology for the build. Cobra will now deliver full design and construction costings for the project, including the potential to upsize the facility’s capacity to process 375,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste per annum.
A detailed geo-technical investigation will take place in the next couple of months. This work will also prepare for the construction of the Bottom Ash recycling and Accelerated Carbonation Technology facilities, to be co-located on the EfW site.
Chris Nagaura, CEO of Opal, who is part of the project consortium along with Veolia and Masdar Tribe Australia, said the agreement with Cobra and Babcock & Wilcox is a major step forward for the EfW project.
“Cobra and Babcock & Wilcox bring world-class construction and technology expertise to the Maryvale Energy from Waste project,” he said.
“They will play an important role in confirming the overall cost for the project, meaning the consortium can secure financing and commence construction in 2024.”
Technology partner Babcock & Wilcox has previously worked closely with the Maryvale Mill, having supplied the site with boiler equipment used for energy generation. It will be responsible for delivering the moving grate furnace, boiler and flue gas treatment systems.
In the past 80 years, there have been 500 installations of Babcock & Wilcox technology in 30 countries. This includes the CopenHill EfW plant in Copenhagen, which features a roof-top ski slope and hiking trail for the local community to use.
As Victoria’s most progressed EfW project, the Maryvale facility will target a 99 per cent diversion of residual waste away from landfill, generating approximately 500 jobs in the construction phase and bringing a new energy sector to the Latrobe Valley.
The project is the recipient of a $48.2m grant from the Australian government under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
Recently, Maroondah City Council was confirmed as the first council to supply municipal solid waste to the Maryvale EfW facility.