Tatura Biogas Power Station

Grid-connected, renewable, distributed generation
Location: Tatura, VIC

The site

Goulburn Valley Water Tatura Wastewater Management Facility is the site of the Tatura Biogas Power Station. High Rate Anaerobic Lagoons (HRALs) are the primary wastewater treatment process at the facility, with biogas continuously produced as a by-product. The biogas is captured in these lagoons and converted into electricity, which is supplied to the local grid. The project is able to provide continuous power generation. Before this project the energy in the biogas from the Tatura HRALs was wasted.

Technology

Raw wastewater is uniformly distributed via a number of inlet ports over the lagoon base where it contacts biomass, and biogas is produced by the biological processes. The biogas is captured at the top of the HRALs by a polypropylene cover and piped directly to the generator. The biogas is mainly methane (70 per cent) and carbon dioxide (30 per cent).

Energy purchase and supply

The plant is expected to produce 5,000 MWh of electricity per annum and is connected to the National Electricity Grid through the Powercor distribution network. It is registered as a market non-scheduled generator and operates as a baseload or peaking plant, depending on seasonality. Tatura is an accredited generator under MRET and is eligible to become accredited under the Victorian Renewable Energy Target scheme.

Environmental impact

The Tatura project has been operating successfully since commissioning. The complete project aims to develop three sites around Shepparton which are expected to save about 14,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum, equivalent to removing nearly 3,400 cars from the road.

Future outlook

Diamond Energy is assisting other water authorities to produce green electricity. Any water authorities with existing or planned HRALs could benefit from the Diamond Energy Model. Diamond Energy has developed a screening model (based on the Victorian EPA model), available free to interested parties, to determine the feasibility of utilising HRAL sites to produce green electricity.

Funding arrangements and acknowledgements

Diamond Energy worked with Sustainability Victoria and Goulburn Valley Water to jointly build and develop the site and the partnership proved very successful. The project was granted up to $800,000 from the Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria as part of the Victorian Government’s Renewable Energy Support Fund.

“I congratulate everyone involved in the development of the Tatura Sewage Gas Generation Facility. For an area that is the food bowl of Australia it is very important that we are able to assure others that we have world best greenhouse gas emission control.”
The Hon. Dr. Sharman Stone MP, Federal Member for Murray