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A $165 million hybrid waste-to-energy and materials recovery facility is moving forward in Ballarat under Bioplant Ballarat Pty Ltd, with the site secured in the Ballarat West Employment Zone through a Development Victoria tender.
Turning local waste into usable energy
Residents in Ballarat generate everyday rubbish that currently heads to landfill. The facility will process up to 150,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste and non-recyclable plastics each year through pyrolysis technology supplied by GGII, converting it into renewable diesel, green hydrogen, electricity and biochar. This output could supply fuel for vehicles and electricity for homes while cutting the volume of waste sent to landfill and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The rollout occurs in two stages. Stage 1 will install five pyrolysis lines handling 120,000 tonnes annually, with Stage 2 adding five more lines. Once Stage 1 operates at full capacity it will yield 56,000 litres of renewable diesel daily, 1,000 tonnes of hydrogen each year, 120 MWh of electricity daily plus biochar and carbon black, according to project details on bioplantenergy.com/ballarat.
Jobs, training and revenue streams
Engineering support comes from Black & Veatch while JBS&G assists with permitting. Revenue will come from selling the fuels and power, carbon credits, recovered metals and plastics, and gate fees. Offtake agreements are in place or under negotiation with a global oil company for the diesel and hydrogen and a major electricity retailer for the power. A $2.99 million Federal Government CRC-P grant backs research into biochar uses in advanced manufacturing.
The project is described as creating jobs and training opportunities for Indigenous communities in the region while delivering affordable clean energy that supports Australia’s net-zero targets. Construction timing remains subject to final approvals, but the secured site and existing offtake discussions indicate the facility could begin supplying Ballarat with locally produced renewable products within the coming years.
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Covering technology in Ballarat. This article was generated by AI from the linked sources, under human editorial accountability and risk-based review and our reasonable editorial care. Sensitive material is held for human review before publication. See our reasonable editorial care.
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