$511m waste-to-energy plant in WA creating 350 construction & operational jobs

A second waste-to-energy plant will be constructed in Perth’s Western Trade Coast (WTC), making Western Australia home to the country’s first two energy-from-waste facilities.

The project in the WTC’s Rockingham Industry Zone is projected to generate about 350 employment opportunities and will turn Perth household and other waste into renewable power.

Consortium partners in the East Rockingham Resource Recovery Facility (ERRRF) revealed late last month that they had achieved financial close and work is projected to start this month on the $511 million facility.

The plant is 4.5km south of the Avertas waste-to-energy plant which began construction in the Kwinana Industrial Area, also part of the WTC, in March.

Perth local and regional government authorities have contracted the development consortium of Australian project developer New Energy Corporation, Abu Dhabi developer Tribe Infrastructure Group and Swiss cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to manage their waste when the facility opens in late 2022.

Each year the facility will treat about 300,000 tonnes of residual waste left after recycling efforts from municipal, commercial and industrial sources.

About 300 workers are expected to be employed by the plant, including apprentices, during construction and up to 50 operations staff on an ongoing basis once complete.

ACCIONA is the lead contractor for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project, collectively with HZI, as well as having an equity stake in the company for the project alongside HZI and John Laing.

ACCIONA will oversee civil construction, the water and steam cycle plant, the installation and construction of HZI’s equipment and the balance of the plant.

HZI will be delivering everything from the waste crane to the stack in the form of its proprietary combustion technology, as well as the reciprocating grate and an extremely efficient multistage flue gas treatment.

The project has received financial support from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), an Australian government-owned institution that supports the country’s energy shift, which has committed up to $57.5 million to the project and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) that will provide $18 million in recoupable grant funding for the project.

The plant is scheduled to go into full operation by the end of 2022.