Waste to Energy - We can do it!

From eNews 482 – Friday, 5 February 2010

The City of Sydney is planning for a sustainable alternative waste treatment facility, building on the work of cities globally to reclaim waste as a valuable resource, while generating energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

While in Seoul Korea in May 2009 at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, I visited an older facility that burnt waste to create energy. At the Copenhagen Mayors' Summit in December, I had the opportunity to learn about a newer technology biogas processing plant in southern Sweden that converts gases from decomposing waste into biogas, a methane-based fuel source.

In Sweden there are over 200 biogas production plants, which have the potential to meet the nation's liquid fuel demand, including a fleet of sustainable biogas buses. Produced from raw materials such as sewage slurry, manure and energy rich vegetable waste, biogas is a local fuel source which helps reuse waste.

Some alternative waste treatment facilities also convert waste into electricity. These facilities recover reusable and recyclable materials, and use the gases produced from organic matter to help power a tri-generation energy system, such as the City's Green Transformer strategy.

Council has appointed an international engineering and design firm to do preliminary work for us on a waste-to-energy facility, including:

  environmental outcomes, including waste outputs, emissions and potential energy supply;

  technical issues associated with collection systems, feedstock and transport;

  options for the establishment, construction, management and operation;

  financial implications;

  site requirements; and

  key lessons from local and overseas experiences.

This project is part of our Green Infrastructure Plan to help us meet ambitious Sydney 2030 targets of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, 25 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2020 and the diversion of 66 percent of waste from landfill by 2014.

The other studies underway as part of the Green Infrastructure Plan are a Combined Heat and Power Master Plan; Renewable Energy Master Plan; and Total Water Cycle Management Strategy.

Information

  AWTF business case officers' report: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Council/documents/meet...

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