BIOMASS ENERGY PLANT — COLLIE
878. Hon DIANE EVERS to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the proposed bioenergy industry in Collie.
(1) How much funding is the government proposing to give to
Renergi Pty Ltd?
(2) Did the
government receive any other competitive applications for this funding; and, if
yes, how many applications were received?
(3) Has there been any research done on the carbon accounting
of this industry; and —
(a) if no to (3), why not; and
(b) if yes to (3), will the
minister please table the results?
(4) In relation to the conventional biomass to be used
by the proposed bioenergy industry in Collie, what does this consist of
and in what quantities, who is the supplier, and for what time period will it
be supplied?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question.
(1) Renergi has
applied to the Collie futures industry development fund for $2 million in
matched funding. The awarding of any CFIDF funding is subject to Renergi
submitting a full business case, the state government undertaking due diligence
on the business case once submitted, and subsequent submission to me as
Minister for Regional Development for approval.
(2) Yes, 10 applications have been
received.
(3) Research has not been undertaken
by state government.
(a) The state
government would require information on the feedstock and the supply chain
logistics in order to undertake a full lifecycle analysis of the emissions and
carbon accounting profile of a project. Any analysis would be undertaken on a case-by-case
basis, in consideration of the project scope.
(b) Not applicable.
(4) Biomass data
for Collie is publicly accessible on the federal government Australian
Renewable Energy Mapping Infrastructure database. This database shows that
within 100 kilometres of Collie, the following biomass is available: cereal
straw, 128 148 average yield tonnes; hardwood plantations residues, 154 562 tonnes
per annum, dry weight; softwood plantations residues, 83 187 tonnes per annum,
dry weight.
A report has been commissioned by the
state government in relation to the bio-economy opportunities in Collie. This
report is currently being finalised and is expected to be presented to
government for consideration sometime in September 2019.