Energy infrastructure company Jemena has teamed up with renewable gas producer Optimal to help in the development of three new biomethane production facilities in regional New South Wales.
As part of a three-year memorandum of understanding, Optimal Renewable Gas (ORG) will explore suitable suites in regional NSW in proximity to agricultural and other water sources that could produce up to 1.5 petajoules of biomethane.
Biomethane is a renewable gas created by processing biogas that is generated from decomposing waste.
Due to its interchangeability with natural gas, biomethane is compatible with all existing gas network infrastructure, gas appliances used in homes and businesses today, as well as in industrial manufacturing processes.
“We have started assessing projects in NSW to produce biomethane to inject into the gas network. Based on our work to date, we could potentially even be looking at somewhere closer to 2-4 petajoules per annum,” said Mike Davis, managing director of ORG. “Our near-term aim is to have ten grid-scale plants in production or under development nationally by 2030.”
As part of the partnership, Jemena will look into the project’s feasibility and undertake preparatory work on injecting biomethane into the NSW gas distribution network.
Research commissioned by Jemena has identified potential sources of biomethane, such as agricultural waste, wastewater and landfills, in the vicinity of its NSW network that could produce up to 30 petajoules of biomethane annually.
“We’re pleased to bring to the table our long-standing energy infrastructure expertise, together with the experience we’ve developed through the Australian-first Malabar Biomethane Injection Plant which – since June this year – has been producing biomethane from organic waste in wastewater and injecting it into the New South Wales gas distribution network,” said David Gillespie, acting managing director at Jemena.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s 2021 Bioenergy Roadmap has outlined the potential for biomethane and other bioenergy sources to become part of Australia’s future energy system.
According to ARENA, Australia’s bioenergy sector could inject around $10 billion in extra GDP per annum by the start of the next decade and enable the creation of over 26,000 new jobs.
The sector is also expected to help reduce Australia’s emissions by about 9 per cent, divert an extra 6 per cent of waste from landfills, and enhance fuel security.
