The site
This organic waste provides an excellent fuel source for the production of methane-rich biogas. Quantum Power, working together with the AJ Bush & Sons team at Bromelton, identified an opportunity to use this waste product to provide the site with discounted electricity for onsite consumption, while at the same time, significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
Two waste ponds were covered in order to capture the biogas produced from the digestion of the organic waste, followed by the installation of the gas transportation infrastructure.
Since then, Quantum Power has been able to provide a reliable electricity supply to the site in excess of the forecasted engine capacity utilisation. The site has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by in excess of 35,000 tonne of net equivalent CO2 emissions per annum.
Technology
The organic wet-waste produced from the rendering process is used as a fuel source to generate the biogas used to power the engines.
The rendering waste originates from recycled meat and poultry co-products from abattoirs, retail butcher shops and meat processors, which are used to produce high-grade protein meals and tallow.
Quantum Power assembled the biogas gensets in its factory located in Queensland. The major engine components include the basic genset from China, and various electrical, gas and control components from Germany and Australia. Quantum Power has developed various in-house systems which are included in the final genset.
The company has intellectual property associated with pond cover design and implementation, which includes various internal and external filtration systems to allow for optimal gas production. Intellectual property associated with the management systems for the gas engines has also been developed. The company has been able to secure cost-effective scrubber units in order to improve the pay-back period on the sites. This, together with the in-house assembly, installation and commissioning of the cost-effective biogas engines, has enabled Quantum Power to offer the site a discount on the electricity produced from the installation.
Energy purchase and supply
The plant is expected to produce
8,760 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per annum by early 2011, and up to 13,000 MWh of electricity when in full production. A 1.7 MW cogeneration system has been approved, which will provide a similar figure of captured waste heat to the site. The target commissioning date for the cogeneration system is June 2011.
Power generated from the project is sold to the site under a long-term power purchase agreement. The generator operates continuously, is registered as a non market generator, and is accredited under the Mandatory Renewable Energy Scheme. The connection point is at the low voltage terminal of Energex’s 11 kV/415V 1500 kVA transformer.
Success of the project to date
Since commissioning on 9 July 2010 Quantum Power has been able to provide a reliable electricity supply to the site well in excess of 90 per cent of the design capacity of the system.
Future outlook
The project is expected to save 60,000 tonnes per annum of greenhouse gas emissions at full installed capacity.
Quantum Power is in discussions with various other sites, producing different types of organic wet-waste, to install similar on-site installations.
