• January 2, 2017
• By Jackson
• Articles

Investment in infrastructure for recovering energy from waste prior to landfill disposal is at a very early stage of development in Australia. An absence of purpose built and fully operational energy from waste plants with a demonstrated environmental track record is amajor issue planning and regulatory authorities face. So how can this barrier be overcome?

Much can be learned from industry and government experience in other advanced economies that have developed significant experience in managing the environmental planning, regulation, construction, operation and environmental monitoring of these plants to ensure the environment is protected.

For example, Japan over the past 15 years has invested heavily to develop and build its energy from waste infrastructure capability to conserve its landfill space. This investment has also been driven to find sustainable alternative energy sources to nuclear.

Japan has 1,162 energy from waste plants, including plants with no energy recovery, through to modern gasification plants with advanced pollution control, energy recovery and plasma arc treatment of ash. Tokyo alone has 21 dedicated energy from waste plants that recover energy from residual waste after source separation and recycling.

There are 764 energy from waste plants across the country that capture heat from the process, and a further 338 include power generation capabilities. The average processing capacity per plant is 158 tonnes per day, or approximately 57,670 tonnes per year.

After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station disaster in March 2011, there has been a policy at a national level to close nuclear reactors and diversify the country’s energy base. To achieve this, the Japanese Government introduced the Purchase of Renewable Energy Sourced Electricity by Electric Utilities Act 2011.

This law, which came into effect on 1 July 2012, provides for a ‘feed-in-tariff’ of 17 Yen/kWh (or ~$0.204/kWh) for ‘waste materials’. This policy has assisted to modernize the energy from waste infrastructure across the country in line with international best practice.

To help in the transfer of knowledge to support the development of appropriate and international best practice energy from waste facilities in Australia, a study tour of advanced energy from waste plants in Tokyo will be led by Jackson Environment and Planning Pty Ltd, 13-18 March, 2017.

A tour itinerary has been developed in consultation with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission in Japan, which will include meetings with regulatory agencies and site inspections of Tokyo’s advanced energy from waste infrastructure. As part of the tour, the following meetings have been arranged:

• Planning officials from the Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
• Planning officials from the Ministry of Environment, Japan
• Operational site tour of the Setagaya Energy from Waste Plant, Tokyo (110,000 tonnes per annum municipal solid waste facility)
• Operational site tour of the Ota Energy from Waste Plant, Tokyo (220,000 tonnes per annum municipal solid waste facility)
• Operational site tour of the Sagamihara City Minami Energy from Waste Plant (190,000 tonnes per annum municipal solid waste facility)
• Meeting with the Trade Commissioner in Japan, Tokyo
• Meeting with a Japanese electronic waste recycler seeking to secure E-waste from Australia.

Meetings with the Trade Commissioner will assist proponents in assessing technology transfer opportunities between Japan and Australia. A meeting has also been organised with a major electronic waste recycler in Tokyo seeking to import electronic waste for processing and recycling across the Asia Pacific region.

The study and trade tour has been designed for private sector investors in energy from waste infrastructure, local government representatives, and local and state government officers responsible for procurement, planning assessment and regulation of these facilities.

Places are limited in the tour, so early bookings are recommended. A full overview of the tour and how to register is available in the brochure.

All meetings and site tours will be supported by Jackson Environment and Planning’s Business and Trade Advisor in Tokyo, Ms Sachiko Ohba. Ms Ohba is a bilingual business and marketing specialist who is fluent in Japanese and English.

Should you have any queries, please call Dr Mark Jackson, Director, Jackson Environment and Planning Pty Ltd on (02) 8056 1849 or mark@jacksonenvironment.com.au.

Download tour brochure