WA’s energy future: the State’s coal-powered heartland of Collie set to lead Renergi’s landfill revolution

Cutting-edge technology that could help tackle the State’s 6.4-million-tonne a year waste crisis has opened in the South West town of Collie, further propelling the epicentre of the WA’s coal-powered past towards a negative-emission future. Construction of the $10.4 million Collie Resource Recovery Centre is now complete, with renewables powerhouse Renergi set to use their world-first technology to begin production of market-ready products in the near future. The first of its kind technology, developed by renowned professor Chun-Zhu Li and his students over more than a decade, will convert rubbish collected from households, as well as biomass wastes, into commercially viable bio-char, bio-oil and wood vinegar. And according to Professor Li, Collie was ideally placed to begin the commercialisation of his technologies with abundant agricultural, forestry, commercial and household wastes needed to create the renewable products. The technology has been hailed by Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen as a solution in the global climate emergency, and praised by local Collie-Preston MP Jodie Hanns as a innovative new industry that had locals feeling “genuine optimism” for the town’s “bright future”. Professor Li — who is also Renergi’s director and CEO — spent more than a decade of research and trials to create the cutting-edge biorefining and biomass pyrolysis technology to be used at the plant, capable of reducing landfill and repurposing plastic waste. The development of the technology has received funding from Federal funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as well as the WA State Government, in partnership with the Shire of Collie. The plant will use Professor Li’s two technologies — drying and pyrolysis — to convert waste into commercially viable biochar, bio-oil and wood vinegar. He said this would demonstrate negative-emission circular economy using biomass and wastes as feedstock — something that has the potential to revolutionise how waste is managed in WA, and help hit targets set under the State Government’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030. “It will be a new way of waste management to drastically minimise the landfills,” Professor Li said. “We will also target supermarket waste and some household waste, like soft plastics, which is a big problem right now.’ According to the WA Waste Authority’s latest annual report, West Australians produced 6.4 million tonnes of waste in 2020–21, an increase of 553,000 tonnes (9 per cent) from 2019–20. Professor Li said success at Collie facility would pave the way for opening more processing plants across WA, as well as other States, to help tackle Australia’s waste problems. About 12 full-time jobs will be created at the facility. Mr Bowen said Renergi’s project demonstrates how all levels of government can work together to create regional jobs as the world decarbonises. “The world’s climate emergency is regional Australia’s jobs opportunity and this ARENA-backed project is an excellent example,” he said. “Renergi is laying the foundations for a new bioenergy industry that will ensure Collie seizes the opportunities of our nation’s energy transformation.” Collie-Preston MLA Jodie Hanns said opening the new facility not only marked another milestone in Collie’s transition away from coal-powered industries, but placed Collie on the leading edge of this innovative technology stream. “I’m pleased to see Collie at the forefront of this new technology that not only creates jobs but also tackles the problem of waste in an innovative way.” “There is genuine optimism in the community as the town’s bright future takes shape,” she said. “The completion of this demonstration plant further builds confidence in Collie’s future. Regional Development Minister Don Punch said the “groundbreaking and innovative technology” would benefit the environment while helping to create more local jobs for Collie residents. “Renergi is one of a growing number of trailblazers which have seen an opportunity in Collie and with the funding provided by the State Government, they have grasped that opportunity,” he said. Local use of bio-oil and char can potentially contribute to other industrial developments in Collie and the surrounding region. Biochar can be sold as a soil conditioner or used in road construction, where it is recognised as a medium for secure, long-term carbon sequestration. Bio-oil can be used as a liquid fuel or as feedstock for replacement of fossil carbon in chemical manufactures, iron-making and other industries. Wood vinegar is a valuable input in horticulture.