Bioenergy

Other common sources include the black liquor derived from paper making, as well as sewage gas and food waste. Bioenergy generators tend to be smaller than hydro plants and wind and solar farms.

Bioenergy generation

Bioenergy generated approximately 3164 GWh of electricity in Australia in 2020. This equated to 1.4 per cent of total electricity generation, and 5.0 per cent of total clean energy generation.

Recent projects

Several notable bioenergy projects were announced in 2020, including:

• The Malabar Biomethane Injection Project, a first of its kind project in Australia that involves installing gas cleaning and upgrading equipment at Sydney Water's Malabar wastewater treatment plant to upgrade biogas to biomethane. The biomethane will then be injected into the gas network, with an initial capacity of 95 terajoules to help meet the gas demand of approximately 6300 homes.
• A collaboration between the Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University to develop and demonstrate the production of compressed biomethane and biocrude oil from sugarcane trash and bagasse at pilot scale.
• The Hazer commercial demonstration plant in WA, which will use biomethane produced at a wastewater treatment site as a feedstock to be converted into 100 tonnes of hydrogen per annum.
• Two 850 kW bioenergy facilities being developed by LMS Energy at Reedy Creek and Caloundra in Queensland that will utilise landfill biogas to produce electricity.
• The installation of a biomass boiler in Victoria that will use 2500 tonnes per annum of wood waste to generate renewable thermal energy to heat treat wooden pallets.
• A project in NSW to optimise a yeast biocatalyst for the efficient production of biofuels from non-food biomass.

Bioenergy projects completed in 2020