One of Queensland's largest vegetable growers has had approval from the state government to establish a $291 million agricultural precinct, that will turn waste into electricity, gas and biofertilizer.
The development is led by Kalfresh, a vertically integrated vegetable farming, packing and marketing business with farms in Bowen, Lockyer Valley, Southern Downs and the Scenic Rim.
The Scenic Rim Agricultural Industrial Precinct (SRAIP) will have a renewable energy power facility and 16 freehold industrial lots, which will be located on a 40 hectare site, which will front the Cunningham Highway in Kalbar, south-west of Brisbane.
Kalfresh CEO Richard Gorman said the idea behind the SRAIP project was to combine a food and beverage precinct with an energy model, that would develop and secure the future of agriculture in Queensland.
"The precinct will provide a home for food and beverage value-adding businesses in the farming region, which means they're more efficient and able to compete with foreign imports," he said.
"Co-locating farming and manufacturing creates diversified markets, increases opportunity for farmers, delivers fresher and faster produce to market, and creates skilled, long-term jobs in the region.
"This diversification includes farmers entering the green energy industry, to produce a new renewable natural gas from food waste and plants to fuel trucks and buses and power industrial manufacturing."
The bioenergy facility is at the centre of the precinct and will process agricultural and urban waste and rotational crops, converting them into green power, gas and green fertiliser.
The waste an feedstock crops will be collected from farms and food processors in the region, transported to the bioenergy facility and converted into green power, natural renewable gas and biofertilizer.
The energy system that will be used to convert the waste, is called anaerobic digestion, a process where waste is placed in sealed anaerobic digestion tanks and bacteria breaks down the organic matter, which produces methane biogas and digestate.
"Our energy model is real and reliable, and we know it works because it's already fuelling heavy vehicles and powering industry in Europe, the UK and the US," Mr Gorman said.
"In Queensland we have an even greater opportunity because we have more sun, more water and better soil than most places in the world.
"Our community will be the first in Queensland to be connected to baseload green energy 24/7, that's generated from food waste and crops grown in local paddocks."
The gas produced will be upgraded into a carbon neutral fuel, which can be used as a diesel replacement for trucks and buses made by plants, and the electricity generated will be used to power the precinct and return green based power to the local grid.
The digestate fertiliser will reduce the reliance on synthetic fertilisers, reduce carbon emissions and improve soil health and crop quality.
Minister for State Development and Infrastructure Grace Grace said it was an ambitious project that aimed to create an integrated agri-industrial hub in the Scenic Rim region of Queensland that would benefit local farmers.
"The project is expected to create direct economic and supply chain contributions, unlocking new market opportunities for local farmers, and creating new employment opportunities," Ms Grace said.
"A unique feature of the project is the inclusion of a facility which converts organic agricultural waste into renewable energy.
"The proposed facility would also provide a new source of fertiliser for the local farming community to use in crop production adding value to what would normally end up as waste."
Construction on the first stage of the project will commence this year.
Kelly Mason
Brisbane-based journalist covering stories from rural and regional Queensland. kelly.mason@queenslandcountrylife.com.au
Brisbane-based journalist covering stories from rural and regional Queensland. kelly.mason@queenslandcountrylife.com.au
