The ACCC has outlined its preliminary competition concerns with Acciona's proposed acquisition of the East Rockingham Waste to Energy Project, which is currently in administration and receivership, in a Statement of Issues today.
Acciona owns 10 per cent of East Rockingham Project, is a creditor and is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor of the Project.
The East Rockingham Project is located in East Rockingham, Western Australia and will process residual putrescible waste for energy recovery once operational.
Acciona also owns and operates a waste-to-energy facility in Kwinana, Western Australia which will process residual waste for energy recovery.
Both the Kwinana and East Rockingham facilities offer putrescible waste disposal services to municipal and commercial and industrial customers. Once operational, the East Rockingham and Kwinana waste-to-energy facilities will be the only waste-to-energy facilities in Western Australia.
"The proposed acquisition removes competition between the only two waste-to-energy facilities in the Perth and Peel region of Western Australia," ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
"Our preliminary view is that the proposed acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of putrescible waste disposal services in the region."
Market feedback received by the ACCC has identified that the two facilities compete closely with each other, given their near-identical services and geographic proximity.
"We consider that East Rockingham and Kwinana waste-to-energy facilities are each other's closest competitor. We are concerned that Acciona would be able to increase prices or reduce service quality at the East Rockingham and Kwinana waste-to-energy facilities following the proposed acquisition," Dr Williams said.
The ACCC is considering whether the facilities' capacity constraints and significant committed capacity may limit Acciona's ability to increase prices or reduce service quality.
The ACCC is also continuing to examine the extent to which other putrescible waste disposal facilities, such as landfills, may constrain waste-to-energy facilities.
"We understand that establishing waste-to-energy facilities requires substantial time, money and regulatory approvals. This means that no other waste-to-energy facility is likely to become operational in Western Australia within the next decade," Dr Williams said.
The ACCC invites submissions from interested parties in response to the Statement of Issues by 31 July 2025.
More information, including the Statement of Issues, can be found on the ACCC's website at Acciona - East Rockingham Waste to Energy Project.
Note
Waste-to-energy facilities receive and thermally treat residual putrescible waste (which cannot be reused or recycled and so would otherwise be disposed of at landfill) to generate electricity for wholesale energy markets.
'Putrescible waste' is solid waste that contains organic material capable of being decomposed by microorganisms.
Background
Acciona is a global infrastructure developer publicly listed in Spain. In Australia, Acciona has various subsidiaries and is currently developing several infrastructure projects across the transport, water and energy sectors.
Acciona holds a 10 per cent non-controlling equity interest in the East Rockingham Project, is a creditor of the Project under a loan agreement and is the current engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The East Rockingham Waste to Energy Project is located in East Rockingham, south of Perth, and is approved to process 300 kt/year of residual waste and generate 29 MW of electricity to the grid.
Acciona also owns and operates the Kwinana Waste-to-Energy facility located in the south of Perth. It is the first utility scale facility in Australia that will process residual waste for energy recovery, and is approved to process up to 460 kt/year of residual waste and generate approximately 38 MW of electricity to the grid. It is still in the commissioning process and is expected to be fully operational this year.
The East Rockingham Project and Kwinana waste-to-energy facilities overlap in the supply of putrescible waste disposal services to municipal and C&I customers in the Perth and Peel region. Once operational, they will be the first waste-to-energy facilities in Western Australia, with no other waste-to-energy facility likely to be established within the next decade.
The East Rockingham Project is currently in voluntary administration and receivers are undertaking a sale process.
