Renewable energy

One of the pillars of the Australian Government’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions is the promotion of renewable or green energy. By 2020, Australia has mandated that at least 20% of all its energy produced comes from renewable sources.

Fundamental is the use of woody biomass  to produce energy, called bioenergy. FPC has multiple projects in the advanced planning stages that utilise plantation waste and residue as an energy source. The advantage of this beyond a simple financial return is the improved environmental and silvicultural benefits derived from improved plantation management practices.

We also forsee the ability of tree crops to be an energy source in their own right. While this is not currently viable, FPC has undertaken considerable work to bring this vision into reality with integrated mallee plantings in drier areas and more intensive Pine, Eucalypt and Casuarina plantations in higher rainfall areas.

Bioenergy partnerships

Two examples of the numerous bioenergy projects FPC is currently working on include;

SpiritWest – plantation residues

FPC has a production agreement with Pacific Energy to utilise in excess of 250,000 tonnes/annum of forest residue to produce base load power.

It is envisaged this purpose built facility will come online by the end of 2011 and will supply approximately 30 MW of green power to the state’s electricity grid.

Plantation Energy – using wood for bioenergy

One of Australia’s bioenergy success stories is Plantation Energy Australia’s Densified Biomass Fuel plant, located 15km north of Albany.

The facility is designed to pelletize 250,000t per year of lower grade wood products, sourced in part from FPC. The pellets are destined for power and heat generation markets.