A significant next step has been taken in the journey towards a low-carbon future with the release of the Federal Government’s Bioenergy Roadmap today.
Welcoming the roadmap, Jemena’s Managing Director, Frank Tudor said Australia is on the precipice of unlocking bioenergy’s capacity to decarbonise our economy, create thousands of jobs, and cement Australia’s position as a global energy powerhouse.
“Today’s roadmap will spur investment locally so we can replicate international experience here and ultimately be placed in pole position in the race towards a bioenergy future.”
Mr Tudor said the roadmap details how bioenergy can be applied in a range of contexts including decarbonising our gas networks for residential gas users – with no changes to appliances.
“We’re excited to be developing Australia’s first biomethane-to-gas project which is on track to commence operations in 2022.”
“The ARENA supported facility, which is located in Malabar, is expected to initially deliver around 95 Terajoules of renewable gas into the New South Wales gas distribution network. This is enough gas to meet the needs of over 6,300 homes, and will remove around 5,000 tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of around 4,500 cars off the road – from the atmosphere each year.
“In the future we estimate there is over 30,000 Terajoules of biomethane that can be unlocked around New South Wales, which is enough gas to meet the needs of our residential customers.”
Bioenergy is a form of renewable energy generated from the conversion of biomass into heat, electricity, and liquid fuels. When converted into biogas, bioenergy has the potential to contribute to the development of renewable gas in Australia as a ‘here and now’ technology to complement hydrogen gas.
“We believe the development of a renewable gas industry is the best way to deliver energy reliability, affordability, and sustainability to Australian homes and businesses, and are calling for a Renewable Gas Target (RGT) as a means of jump-starting the entire renewable gas sector.”
“Our modelling shows an RGT of 10% would remove around 464,000 tonnes of carbon per annum from the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of more than 200,000 cars off the road each year. In New South Wales achieving such a target would cost just $5 to $15 per household each year.”
