Veolias Australian Landfill-Gas-to-Energy Fish Farm Project Wins Double Award

A Veolia project in Australia that is using heat from a landfill gas-to-energy facility at a nearby fish farm, has won two Australian Business Awards - for Innovation and Sustainability. The company explained that the two accolades recognised the aquaculture project for its use of heat from the gas engines to heat water and ensure optimal conditions for fish farming; effectively eliminating the costs of heating the water through conventional gas or electricity. Veolia added that this is the fifth consecutive year running is has won an Australian Business Award (ABA), which recognises organisations that have made a significant contribution through effective products, processes or ideas that result in environmental or social improvements. The heat being used for the aquaculture project is being generated at Veolia’s Woodlawn bioenergy facility, located near Goulburn, 250km south-west of Sydney. The Facility currently generates 5 MW of electricity. Veolia said that it is now selling farmed barramundi from the tanks of the aquaculture project to shops and restaurants in nearby Canberra, five years after it first conducted tests into the concept. Doug Dean, managing director of Veolia Australia and New Zealand – a part of the Veolia Group (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) – explained that the Woodlawn facility was designed in 2005 with a view to making the site as self-sufficient as possible. “We wanted the facility to be as sustainable as possible while taking advantage of every opportunity to turn everyday waste collected from homes and businesses across the State, into a resource,” said Dean. According to the managing director, capturing and utilising heat generated by the landfill gas engines has brought the company one step closer to ensuring a wholly sustainable method of aquaculture from production to point of sale. "At present, the facility can produce up to 2.5 tonnes of barramundi each year, which contributes to sustainable food production within Australia,” he added. Read More The WASP - Taking the Sting out of Sydney's Waste Located alongside one of the world's largest and deepest bioreactor landfills, Veolia's proposed MBT facility 250 km outside of Sydney has had its doubters. Originally given the green light in 2007, the company says that market conditions are now right to proceed. However, a recent redesign means the project requires a new consent and it's also dependent on the delivery of a major new rail terminal in Sydney. Australia Military Waste & Recycling Contract for Veolia Veolia has signed a six year agreement to collect and manage waste and recycling for the Australian Military. Algae to Biofuel Technology Deal for Planned Australian Waste to Energy Plants Australian algae based biofuel specialist, Algae.Tec (ASX: AEB, OTCQX: ALGXY) has signed a binding agreement with Victoria, Australia based waste to energy developer, Phoenix Energy Australia to provide its proprietary algae to biofuels technology to its proposed facilities in Australia and New Zealand.