The Shoalhaven is a step closer to cleaner farms and clean energy, with the arrival of Australia's first manure vacuum truck in Nowra.
The Canadian-built, Nuhn Self Propelled Alley Vac, will play a key role in the collection of manure from local dairy farms, for the $17 million Nowra Bioenergy Facility due to open in 2023.
Innovating Energy's industrial scale bioenergy plant, will aggregate cow manure from 19 Nowra dairies, mixed with local food and organic waste, to generate renewable energy and produce nutrient rich fertiliser.
The plant will use innovative European technology to turn farm and food waste into biogas, or poo power, that will generate electricity that gets fed back into the grid.
Effluent collecting machines are widely used in North America and Europe, however, the Nowra dairy farms will be the first to use the technology in Australia.
Philip Horan, Founder Innovating Energy, said the Alley Vac is an integral part of their effluent management system and gives 19 dairy farmers the technology they need to collect as much manure as possible from their farms.
Nicknamed the Poover, the Alley Vac is designed to vacuum up significant amounts of manure from milking and feed pad areas and concrete and hardstand areas, in a single pass.
Giant blades manoeuver to follow the contours of uneven ground, a short wheelbase and four-wheel steer allows for a tight turning radius, and a full-length auger makes for fast unloading.
The purchase of the Alley Vac was made possible by a $455,000 grant awarded by the Coles Nurture Fund last year.
The Coles-funded grants program recognises small to medium businesses contributing to sustainable farming.
Charlotte Rhodes, General Manager - Home Brand, Quality and Responsible Sourcing Coles, said Coles was delighted to fund the purchase of the Alley Vac.
"At Coles we want to help to Australian farmers and food producers to drive sustainability and innovation, so when we heard about Innovating Energy's plan to collect, transport and convert dairy effluent into electricity, we knew it was something we wanted to support with a grant from the Coles Nurture Fund," Mrs Rhodes said.
Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP, is also positive about the renewable energy project and said it was a real win for the Shoalhaven community.
"The ingenuity of local dairy farmers is on full display, and I am so proud to support this fantastic project," Mrs Phillips said.
The Shoalhaven is one of the oldest dairying regions in the country and one of the flattest. When heavy rains hit, quite a lot of effluent can leach into the Shoalhaven River. When the plant is operational next year and the Alley Vac gets to work, the environmental benefits for the region will be significant.
"The dairy farmers feel strongly about their environmental responsibilities and were impressed by the proposed facility's green credentials and the benefits of the biogas plant for the community," Mr Horan said.
"One of the things the farmers really understood about this project, is that it'll greatly contribute to an environmental clean-up of their farms. They'll drastically reduce their CO2 emissions and wastewater pollution,"
"The facility will produce a constant 2.2 megawatts of clean, green energy from the outset, with zero emissions. That's enough to power 20,000 homes. Unlike renewable energy from wind and solar, the plant will generate baseload green energy 24/7, 365 days a year, "
"And the output will increase to 3.3 megawatts in time." he said.
Mr Horan said some of the produced power will be sold to the participating dairy farmers at a reduced rate, which will cut their power bills and slash farm overheads. The rest will be sold to the grid for the community to buy at competitive market rates.
The farmers will also enjoy free nutrient-rich fertiliser: a by-product of biogas production.
"We're also going to see 30,000 tonnes of green waste saved from landfill," Mr Horan said.
"We need organic food waste and farm waste to create biogas, which means local supermarkets, clubs, pubs and processing companies will play their part in the plant's production of clean energy."
The facility will be built at the former Nowra Wastewater Treatment Plant site in Terara, just outside Nowra, and operations will be fully enclosed, which means no noise and no odours.
"Which is great news for residents." Mr Horan said.
Innovating Energy has lodged an Environmental Impact Statement and is planning to start groundworks once final approval is granted.
For more about the project visit nowrabioenergy.com.au
About us:
Innovating Energy is bringing world-class industrial biogas plants and biorefineries to Australia, that produce clean energy, clean water and high-quality fertiliser from organic wastes. All with zero emissions.
