Jemena breaks ground at Malabar Biomethane Project

Breaking ground at Malabar Biomethane Project L to R: General Manager, Renewable Energy Peter Harcus (Jemena) , Minister for Lands & Water Kevin Anderson, Ian Kay (Chief Financial Officer, ARENA), Paul Plowman (General Manager, Sydney Water)
Breaking ground at Malabar Biomethane Project (L to R): General Manager, Renewable Energy Peter Harcus (Jemena) , Minister for Lands & Water Kevin Anderson, Ian Kay (Chief Financial Officer, ARENA), Paul Plowman (General Manager, Sydney Water)

Construction has started on Jemena‘s Malabar Biomethane Project—a $16 million project that will turn waste flowing to Australia’s largest wastewater treatment plant into carbon-neutral gas for use in Sydney homes and businesses.

Minister for Lands and Water the Hon Kevin Anderson, together with representatives from energy infrastructure company Jemena, Sydney Water and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) marked the start of work on the demonstration project at Sydney Water’s Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant.

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The Malabar Biomethane project, co-funded by Jemena and ARENA, will be the first in Australia to blend biomethane directly into the gas network, with the aim to start production by the end of 2022. The project will have an initial capacity of 95 Terajoules (TJ) of gas per year, which is enough gas to meet the needs of approximately 6,300 homes. Jemena estimates this number could scale up to 200TJ per annum, which is enough gas to meet the needs of 13,300 homes.

Jemena general manager renewable gas Peter Harcus said biomethane had the potential to play a huge role in meeting Australia’s net-zero emissions targets, could help drive a faster and more cost-effective energy transition, and could create new jobs and industries.

“This project will start to allow Sydney households to keep using gas, while also reducing their carbon footprint,” Harcus said.

“For our commercial and industrial customers—whose manufacturing processes are difficult to decarbonise—this project will help enable them to maintain their operations, keep people in jobs, and help to decarbonise their supply chain.”

Biomethane is produced by upgrading biogas, which is created through anaerobic digestion; a process which sees bacteria break down waste such as organic matter in wastewater to produce gas. The upgrading process separates methane from other gases and contaminants to produce biomethane. The resulting biomethane gas is carbon-neutral and, importantly, can be used in the same way natural gas is used today—giving customers a renewable gas option, without having to change their appliances.

Related article: Jemena upgrading waste into renewable energy

“One great benefit of biomethane is it can be used with the cooktops and heaters that people have in their homes right now, and without the need to change home appliances or extensive upgrades to the gas network—it’s a  pathway that would enable us to reduce emissions faster, while saving people money,” Harcus said.

The Malabar Biomethane project is expected to remove 5,000 tonnes of carbon, and potentially 11,000 tonnes if scaled up to its full potential. 

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