Prior to 1 July 2022, this fund was named the Recycling Victoria Waste to Energy Fund: Bioenergy.

Number of recipients to date: 16 in stream 1, 6 in stream 2
Total funding awarded to date: $6.3 million
All projects to be completed by: 30 June 2026

Funding was available through 2 streams:

  1. Stream 1: Project development – supported applicants to scope, test, and gain approvals to achieve pre-construction and pre-financial close phases of a bioenergy project.
  2. Stream 2: Project infrastructure – supported applicants with a proven business case in the purchase, construction, and commissioning of infrastructure to convert organic matter to bioenergy.

This grant program was funded through the government’s circular economy policy, Recycling Victoria: a new economy.

Fund recipients

OrganisationProject ProposalFunding
Central Highlands Water Corporation Investigate the viability of reusing forestry residues from 1,215 Ha pine plantations as a biomass product for a range of potential uses including heat and electricity generation. $50,000
Corangamite Shire Council Undertake a feasibility and technical study to assess the viability of pyrolysis technology for generating bioenergy and biochar end-products from the region's green waste and FOGO waste. Up to $20,000
Dairy Australia Limited Identify opportunities within Victoria for the development of bioenergy projects based on co-digestion of problematic waste streams from the dairy, red meat, pork and chicken industries. Up to $200,000
Delorean Energy Pty Ltd Build a waste to energy facility in Stanhope, Victoria to use anaerobic digestion technology to process typical organic waste feedstocks including under-utilised feedstocks like industrial organics. $20,000
Eco Recyclers Pty Ltd Determine the feasibility of commoditising Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste timber into a high value biomass for use in energy recovery. $47,115
Energy 360 Pty Ltd Collaborate with a medium sized dairy farm in Gippsland, to conduct a feasibility study and business case for a waste to energy project using anaerobic digestion technology. $24,229
FHAH Pty Ltd Investigate the use of biomass at their Tatura site and biomass replacement feedstock at their Mansfield site and reduce reliance on natural gas grid infrastructure. $49,334
Golden Camel Mining Pty Ltd Develop an anaerobic digestion plant to provide 1 - 2 MW 'behind the meter' base load power to a mineral processing facility being built in Nagambie. Up to $25,000
Goulburn Valley Region Water Corporation (GREAT) Transition the Shepparton Wastewater Management Facility to a green energy technology hub, delivering local energy resilience and nutrient recycling. $75,000
Max Biocare Pty Ltd Develop a business case for the generation of fungal enzymes for recalcitrant agricultural waste treatment, while mitigating waste streams and integrating with circular economy programs. $63,360
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Undertake a feasibility study to map and quantify agricultural and commercial food organic waste streams from within the green wedge rural zone, and current materials flow and processing. $24,000
Orbost and District Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc. Study feedstocks and bioenergy options in or near the township, conducting basic biochemical testing on the major feedstocks and proposing potential project sites. Up to $31,334
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Support a research study to develop a portable and scalable solution for converting waste cooking oil to biodiesel utilizing an additively manufactured (3D printed) catalytic reactor. Up to $250,000
Tempo Foods Convert the dairy manufacturing waste to renewable biogas using a unique small scale anaerobic digestion system.

In doing so, reduce Tempo’s reliance on natural gas for hot water.
$31,300
Westernport Region Water Corporation Understand the viability for a waste-to-energy cogeneration facility at Westernport Water’s Cowes Wastewater Treatment Plant. $92,003
Yarra Valley Water Corporation Develop a feasibility study and business case for investment into additional electricity generation infrastructure at Yarra Valley Water’s bioenergy facility in Wollert.

Capture its full renewable energy generation potential from the excess biogas which is currently being flared.
Up to $175,000

Announcement date: 21 June 2023

OrganisationProject ProposalFunding
Australia Consolidated Milk Pty Ltd Convert wasted cheese from production process to produce biogas which will then be converted into electricity to run the dairy manufacturing plant. Up to $850,000
Gaia EnviroTech Install an anaerobic digestion system that will convert organic waste into an energy resource.

The biogas produced will help to displace natural gas and insulate from increasing wholesale gas prices in Victoria and protect against the threat of future gas supply shortfalls.
Up to $407,000
Katunga Fresh Pty Ltd Build a pyrolysis plant that will allow them to use its organic waste to be fed into the pyrolysis units, with the additional ability to process off site biomass within a 200-kilometre radius of the site.

Reduce Katunga Fresh’s demand on the grid to zero by using the processed biomass to warm the glasshouses and will result in 145,000GJ of natural gas being returned into the grid saving Katunga more than $3,000,000 per year.
Up to $1,000,000
Saputo Dairy Australia Pty Ltd Recover the natural gas configured microturbines and have them modified to run on biogas.

Fund the addition of heat recovery units on the turbine exhausts, for installation at Allansford cheese and whey plant, where up to 4.5 MW of biogas is currently produced and flared.
Up to $1,000,000
Union Pastoral Pty Ltd Use anaerobic pond coverings to capture biogas.

Use organic animal effluent to create electricity for their operations using a combined heat and power generation plant.

Utilise bioenergy resources generated onsite to help Union Dairy project site at Woolsthorpe achieve emissions abatement of approx. 7,500 tCO2e per year.
Up to $840,582
Yarra Valley Water Corporation Develop an anaerobic digestion facility at its Lilydale Sewage Treatment Plant site.

Purchase generation equipment.

Once commissioned, the plant will process around 27,000 tpa of commercial and industrial food waste, producing around 11,400 MWh per year of electricity to power onsite and the remaining electricity injected into the grid.
Up to $1,000,000

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