Clean Fuel Powers Shoalhaven Starches
The demand for Australian-grown and made food and industrial products is increasing and Shoalhaven Starches’ infrastructure program is underway with the goal to diversify and increase production, whilst accentuating clean energy needs to meet this growth.
“Our integrated sustainable manufacturing process at Shoalhaven Starches uses the entire wheat grain with zero waste, relying on heat (from steam) production to power the site, day-in, day-out, 365 days a year.
“We recognise that stable, reliable, and affordable energy is critical to the site, and with significant investment we are turning a clean energy advantage into a clean manufacturing advantage,” Manildra Group Managing Director, John Honan said.
To future-proof manufacturing capabilities, foster hundreds of direct jobs, and build on local industries, Manildra Group is constructing a 60MW gas-fired cogeneration plant at the Shoalhaven Starches site. The state-of-the-art gas turbines will burn natural gas to drive a generator to produce electricity. The waste heat from the exhaust gas from each turbine is used to create steam in a heat recovery steam generator.
Construction of the $190 million investment is due to commence in mid-2022, as is the construction of a gas pipeline which will deliver gas directly to the Shoalhaven Starches site from Pestells Lane. Current projections are that the project will be fully operational by early 2023.
“With recent developments in Australia’s energy transition, this cogeneration technology will produce up to 100 per cent of the electricity required at the Shoalhaven Starches site, and additionally approximately 170 jobs during construction,” Mr Honan told The Cultivator.
Currently the site is fuelled directly by gas, electricity and coal, and this “mammoth project” will replace coal-fired steam generation while substantially reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 45 per cent.
“This scale of investment in energy transition, generation and infrastructure cements our staunch commitment to a sustainable, clean energy powered site, which eliminates coal from our supply chain and fundamentally, secures the sites energy future for decades to come,” he said.
Back to news