Yarra Valley Water opens waste to energy facility

The Victorian Government last week launched a cutting-edge recycling facility in Melbourne’s north that will reduce landfill, cut greenhouse emissions and produce enough renewable energy to pay for itself.

Yarra Valley Water’s $27 million waste to energy facility converts organic waste such as food scraps, which would otherwise be bound for landfill, into renewable energy. The amount of energy produced by the new facility is the equivalent of about 25% of Yarra Valley Water’s overall energy requirements — enough to power the adjacent sewage treatment plant and export surplus electricity exported to the grid as renewable energy.

“We are incredibly excited to see the facility, which was envisioned several years ago, start operating,” said Yarra Valley Water Managing Director Pat McCafferty. “The energy produced by the facility contributes towards our aspirational target to produce 100% of our own energy by 2025, at no additional cost to customers.

“While similar facilities are in place in other parts of the world, a great deal of work was needed to determine whether we could make a facility of this kind a success in the Australian market. We already manage approximately 75% of liquid waste generated across our service area. Instead of treating the organics as waste, we’re treating it as a product with value that can be re-used resulting in significant environmental and cost benefits for our community.”

Minister for Water Lisa Neville, who opened the Wollert facility, described it as “a great example of our water authorities meeting the challenges of the future, including climate change and population growth — a key objective of our Water for Victoria policy”.

“By generating its own energy, rather than being dependent on purchasing energy, the facility will put downwards pressure on water bills for consumers,” Neville said.