A project in Australia to turn Darwin’s green waste into biofuel for electricity generation at a mine using Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation (OTCBB:DYMTF) fast pyrolysis technology, has taken a step forward with the approval of the project by the city council.

The environmentally-friendly plant would be the first of its kind in Australia and will be owned and operated by Renewable Oil Corporation, which is the master licensee and is based in Melbourne. 

It would convert green waste into greenhouse gas/carbon neutral BioOil fuel, which combusts with far less NOx and virtually no SOx in comparison to conventional fossil fuel. It would be built at the Council’s Shoal Bay Waste Facility in Darwin. Excess green electricity generated in parallel with the pyrolysis plant would be fed into the Darwin grid.

Two Magellan 4 MW biofuel fired steam injected gas turbine power plants from Orenda Aerospace Corporation are proposed for remote power generation using the BioOil. These are the same as the OGT2500 Magellan gas turbine used in Dynamotive’s West Lorne, Ontario, electricity generating plant, but with the extra power created from steam injection. This remote plant will be purpose-built and operated by ROC.

Dynamotive President and CEO, Andrew Kingston, said “This is very welcome news as Darwin will serve as a model for many cities throughout the world to develop recycling projects for green waste. Avoiding the disposal of large amounts of green waste will be very attractive to many cities as it will eliminate the creation of methane, a far more potentially harmful greenhouse gas. Our BioOil will also replace diesel fuel which would otherwise have been used to produce the electricity.”

Mr. Kingston said he understood there would likely be additional planning and approval steps, but with such a strong endorsement from the city council, he said he was optimistic the project would progress satisfactorily through them also. “The Council already has a strong focus on waste reduction and recycling at its Shoal Bay site,” he said.

In a company news release referring to ROC on October 3, 2006, he had said the first Australian BioOil production facility would be built in 2007 and become operational in 2008. “It appears we are still on target for this to happen.”

Renewable Oil Corporation CEO, Colin Stucley, said Darwin was an ideal place to build the plant. "Darwin has a combination of things, such as the strong environmental policy here to enhance the environment and benefit the community. That makes our job easier. Darwin already has a well run green waste collection scheme. There are mining companies in remote parts of the Territory that already use diesel generators for electricity. Our dedicated remote power plant using BioOil will give them a competitive alternative with major environmental benefits."