An Australian-Middle Eastern consortium selected by the New South Wales Government is set to develop a state-of-the-art facility to transform waste into energy at Parkes.
Parkes Energy Recovery is a consortium of companies led by Tribe Infrastructure Group (Tribe), an investment firm based in the United Arab Emirates.
Along with Tribe, the group includes Tadweer Group, HiQ Group (HiQ) and Kanadevia Inova (KVI).
In March, the consortium entered into a development agreement with the Regional Growth New South Wales Development Corporation (RGDC) to obtain the necessary approvals and undertake the design, funding, construction, ownership and operation of the proposed facility.
The consortium has now pledged to invest $1.5 billion to build the facility on land leased from RGDC within the Parkes Special Activation Precinct.
The waste-to-energy plant will convert non-recyclable residual waste into electricity using thermal technology. It will involve burning waste to generate steam, which in turn drives turbines to generate electricity.
It is expected to treat approximately 600,000 tonnes of waste per annum. It aims to generate 60 megawatts of baseload electricity, enough to power up to 80,000 homes.
The need for a waste-to-energy facility
Sydney’s landfill space is forecast to run out by 2030. NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has called for “urgent action” to address the city’s waste crisis.
Once operational, around 60 trainloads of rubbish from Sydney will be sent to the new facility daily.
Apart from diverting waste away from landfills and repurposing it into energy, Parkes Energy Recovery will also drive investment and job growth in Parkes and the surrounding region, delivering 400 jobs during construction and 50 ongoing jobs during operation.
“Energy-from-waste helps change the way we view and manage waste – to see it as a resource that can be used, instead of something to be discarded,” Tribe Infrastructure Group CEO of development Edward Nicholas said. “If approved, this facility would divert waste from landfills and produce energy to power homes, businesses and communities across New South Wales.”
The project is currently seeking various regulatory approvals, including consulting with the NSW Environment Protection Authority and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
It isn’t certain whether this plant will receive all the regulatory approvals. Plans for a similar facility, which was proposed for Eastern Creek in Sydney in 2018, were eventually shelved after objections were raised.
In 2022, the NSW government banned waste-to-energy facilities in all locations across the state, except in Parkes, Lithgow, Goulburn and Richmond.
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