Australia’s first operational energy recovery facility has officially been opened by Western Australian Premier and Member for Kwinana Roger Cook.
Owned and operated by ACCIONA, the Kwinana Energy Recovery facility will transform up to 460,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year into 38 megawatts of baseload renewable electricity – enough to power more than 55,000 homes.
It will also recover more than 10,000 tonnes of metals annually from incinerator bottom ash, ensuring valuable materials are recycled and reused.
Over the past three months, the facility has processed more than 90,000 tonnes of waste, equating to 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions being avoided. The facility has also recovered more than 2500 tonnes of materials such as steel and aluminium and sent them to be recycled.
Electricity generation from the facility is now an important component of renewable baseload power for Western Australia through participation in the reserve capacity mechanism. The facility is accredited to produce large-scale generation certificates, supporting industry to meet its obligations and the Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme.
Bede Noonan, ACCIONA Chief Executive Officer for Australia and New Zealand, said, “This important facility underpins Western Australia’s energy security and decarbonisation goals while creating a sustainable circular solution to waste.
“Every tonne processed at the facility represents a step towards a cleaner, more sustainable future, reducing landfill, cutting emissions and creating valuable by-products for reuse.”
Noonan said ACCIONA is proud to have delivered a critical piece of sustainable infrastructure that has pioneered the way for such a valuable industry and sets the benchmark for future thermal recovery projects in Australia.
“The build quality is a credit to the ACCIONA team and everyone involved in the construction and delivery of this impressive facility,” Noonan said.
“The shared commitment and collaboration with our partners, stakeholders and community made this project possible, and we are delighted to continue supporting the local community through our new Kwinana Energy Recovery Community Grant Fund and community education programs.”
Premier Cook said the new facility would help diversify Western Australia’s nation-leading economy. “Ensuring our state becomes a renewable energy powerhouse and makes more things here is my government’s priority,” he said.
“I want to ensure Western Australia’s economy remains the strongest in the nation, and projects like these will ensure that happens.”
The Kwinana Energy Recovery facility supported more than 3500 jobs during construction and will provide around 50 permanent skilled positions, along with numerous apprenticeship and graduate opportunities throughout its 25-year operational life.
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