Making Waste a Winner - Bega Valley
The Clean Energy Action Plan released by Clean Energy for Eternity (CEFE) in February 2007 outlined a wide range of options to help our region reduce its energy use by 50% and generate 50% of its energy needs from clean renewable sources by 2020. The renewable energy options included wind, wave, solar, hot rocks, biomass and biogas.
By August 2008 we’ve seen exciting progress on solar energy, with the initial feasibility study for the community solar farm about to kick off with Federal funds. Positive moves on wind include a local Council policy on the installing domestic micro-wind turbines and several wind companies investigating potential for wind farms across this south east corner of NSW.
Last Tuesday representatives from Bega Cheese Ltd and Bega Valley Shire Council met with Mike Kelly, Clean Energy for Eternity, and a visiting Melbourne company called Szencorp to discuss the potential of biogas technology.
On the face of it, the concept is simplicity itself. Cows emit greenhouse polluting methane, councils collect green waste then need to do something with it; farmers have to manage effluent and pay for electricity. So – why not install a biogas plant that can transform the cow manure and green waste through a digester, capture the methane released and co-generate electricity and heat. The by-product is a stabilized fertilizer full of available nutrients and carbon that can replace increasingly expensive fertilizers.
Obviously there are some serious sums to be worked out before we leap in at the deep end. However, this technology can be both flexible and scaleable. Small scale biogas plants could potentially provide individual dairies with a chance to offset on-site heating and cooling costs required to deliver milk meeting strict requirements. At the other end of the scale, a larger co-generation plant might offer Bega Cheese Ltd with significant savings in electricity and heating/cooling and provide our Council another realistic waste management option to consider.
CEFE is keen to support all opportunities to help our region make this crucial transition towards renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction. We’ll be holding a major renewable energy forum soon – watch this space!
by Philippa Rowland
