Sustainable infrastructure provider ACCIONA has officially opened Australia’s first operational waste-to-energy plant in Western Australia.
ACCIONA’s owned and operated Kwinana Energy Recovery facility will transform up to 460,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year into 38 megawatts of renewable electricity, enough to power more than 55,000 homes. The facility will also recover more than 10,000 tonnes of metals annually from incinerator bottom ash.
In three months of operation, the facility has already processed more than 90,000 tonnes of waste equating to 90,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent emissions being avoided. The facility has also recovered more than 2,500 tonnes of materials, including steel and aluminium, and sent them for recycling.
ACCIONA CEO for Australia and New Zealand Bede Noonan 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.”
The facility now provides an important component of renewable baseload power for Western Australia through participation in the reserve capacity mechanism.
Kwinana is accredited to produce large-scale generation certificates to help meet the industry and the government’s Renewable Energy Target scheme.
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said the facility will help diversify the state’s economy.
“I’d like to congratulate ACCIONA on opening this energy recovery facility, which will provide low-carbon energy to tens of thousands of homes and businesses throughout WA’s southwest, helping decarbonise households and major job-creating projects.
“I want to ensure WA’s economy remains the strongest in the nation, and projects like these will ensure that happens,” the premier said.
The facility is expected to provide more than 50 permanent skilled positions, along with apprenticeship and graduate opportunities, throughout its 25-year operational life.