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Uralla pilot pyrolysis project seeks expert advice
In July, Adriana Downie Chief Technology Officer, BEST Energies Australia was invited by the Uralla Climate Forum to present details of cost and operation expenses of a 3MW pyrolysis plant. The Forum is conducting a preliminary feasibility study to examine the process of utilising locally available biomass material for the production of electricity and biochar via a pilot slow pyrolysis plant in Uralla. Biomass streams being considered are regional municipal wastes, forest thinning and thinning from ‘engineered woodlands'.
The NSW Government recently initiated a number of Community Climate Consensus Forums targeting selected local councils, seeking input to the NSW Climate Summit held in February 2009. The summit formulated recommendations to the Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Minister Carmel Tebbutt. Amongst the recommendations emanating from the Uralla Climate Forum was support for local renewable energy production.
The Climate Consensus Project participants in Uralla have since held several meetings and a significant body of information has been examined addressing the issues involved in establishing a pilot slow pyrolysis electricity generation plant in the Southern New England Tablelands, particularly in Uralla. A number of potential stakeholders have been involved in discussions about this project. The process has now reached the stage of requiring a preliminary report on the analysis of a pilot slow pyrolysis electricity generation project in Uralla.
Adriana advised the Uralla Forum that establishing a pyrolysis plant will be a challenge as there are many groups with similar concepts. There has been a lot of interest in pyrolysis for dealing with urban greenwaste to reduce the costs involved in disposal. Biomass feedstocks in rural areas usually have other uses and are likely to come at a cost. For example the cost to deliver forestry residues to Uralla is estimated at $80 per wet tonne or $160 per dry tonne. At these prices, a pyrolysis plant would run at a loss because of the low cost of electricity in Australia and the absence of carbon credits for biochar at present.
However, Adriana said that projects like the Uralla pyrolysis plant are coming of age and feasibility studies should be done. The Federal government has committed to reduce Australia's carbon pollution to 25 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020. It is expected that the land sector might be included in the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) in 2012. The Department of Climate Change has indicated that soil carbon initiatives such as biochar might be included in the agreement if scientifically demonstrated.