ACCIONA has celebrated the opening of Australia’s first operational energy recovery facility by Western Australian Premier and Kwinana MLA Roger Cook.
Owned and operated by ACCIONA, the Kwinana Energy Recovery facility will transform up to 460,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year into 38 megawatts of baseload renewable electricity—enough to power more than 55,000 homes.
It will also recover more than 10,000 tonnes of metals annually from incinerator bottom ash, ensuring valuable materials are recycled and re-used.
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Instead of heading to landfill, household and commercial waste from local councils and industry is now fuelling a more sustainable energy future for Western Australia. Over the past three months, the facility has already processed more than 90,000 tonnes of waste equating to 90,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions being avoided. The facility has also recovered more than 2,500 tonnes of materials such as steel and aluminium and sent them to be recycled.
Electricity generation from the facility is now an important component of renewable baseload power for Western Australia through participation in the reserve capacity mechanism. The facility is accredited to produce large-scale generation certificates, supporting industry to meet its obligations and the Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme.
ACCIONA CEO Australia and New Zealand Bede Noonan said, “This important facility underpins Western Australia’s energy security and decarbonisation goals while creating a sustainable circular solution to waste.
“Every tonne processed at the facility represents a step towards a cleaner, more sustainable future, reducing landfill, cutting emissions and creating valuable by-products for reuse.
“ACCIONA is extremely proud to have delivered this critical piece of sustainable infrastructure. It’s a symbol of resilience, collaboration and innovation that has pioneered the way for such a valuable industry and sets the benchmark for future thermal recovery projects in Australia.
“The build quality is a credit to the ACCIONA team, and everyone involved in the construction and delivery of this impressive facility. The shared commitment and collaboration with our partners, stakeholders and community made this project possible, and we are delighted to continue supporting the local community through our new Kwinana Energy Recovery Community Grant Fund and community education programs.”
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Premier Cook said the new facility would help diversify Western Australia’s nation-leading economy.
“Ensuring our state becomes a renewable energy powerhouse, and makes more things here, is my government’s priority,” he said.
“I’d like to congratulate ACCIONA on opening this energy recovery facility, which will provide low-carbon energy to tens of thousands of homes and businesses throughout WA’s southwest, helping decarbonise households and major job-creating projects. I want to ensure WA’s economy remains the strongest in the nation, and projects like these will ensure that happens.”
