The NSW Government has released its Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan, suggesting various changes to the construction and placement of energy from waste facilities. The revised planning instruments giving effect to these restrictions are expected to be introduced by the end of 2021.

Published on 10 September 2021.

The NSW Government released its Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan this morning.

The Plan refers to the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 (Waste Strategy) analysis that suggests that:

• by 2030, only one large-scale energy from waste facility would be required to service the Greater Sydney region by 20230;
• an extra three such facilities would be required to services the Greater Sydney region by 20240; and
• a medium-scale energy from waste facility may be required to service the Hunter and Norther Rivers regions.

The Plan then goes on to say that:

• it is critical that the number and capacity of energy from waste facilities in NSW is strategically managed to that capacity does not exceed forecast volumes of residual waste;
• high population centres in NSW should not be exposed to new sources of air emissions and a precautionary approach should be applied to the development of energy from waste facilities; and
• energy from waste facilities should be co-located with other resource recovery and waste operations facilities to facilitate the transition to a circular economy.

The Plan then states that this means that thermal energy from waste facilities will only be permitted:

• in the West Lithgow Precinct (which includes Re.Group/Energy Australia’s Mount Poper Project)
• in the Parks Sepcial Activation Precinct
• in the Richmond Valley Regional Jobs Precinct (which does not include Cape Byron Power’s Condong Plant).
• in the Southern Goulburn Mulwaree Precinct (which includes Veolia’s Woodlawn Advanced Energy Recovery Centre but not Jerrara Power’s proposed Energy from Waste facility at Bungonia)
• where the facility uses waste, or waste-derived, feedstock to replace less environmentally sound fuels (including coal or petroleum based fuels) thermally treated (or approved to be thermally treated) at the site, and the energy produced from the waste is used predominantly to power the industrial and manufacturing processes on-site, rather than exporting that energy to the grid.

Revised planning instruments that will give effect to the new restrictions are expected to be in place by the end of 2021, with additional amendments to be made to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and potentially the Protection of the Environment Operations Act in late 2021 to early 2022.

Jennifer Hughes