Mackay Sugar has opened a $120 million cogeneration plant that is poised to meet one third of Mackay City’s power needs.
The facility uses waste from its processes to produce electricity and supply steam and electricity to its own mill and sugar refinery.
The parliamentary secretary for climate change, industry and innovation Yvette D’Ath opened the plant and congratulated Mackay Sugar on the milestone.
“Mackay Sugar has today demonstrated that it is possible to makes sensible investments in cleaner technologies which will not only benefit the environment, but also improve the bottom line and productivity of businesses operating in the modern Australian economy,” D’Ath said.
The new cogeneration plant will create large-scale generation certificates based on the amount of renewable electricity it produces.
“The revenue stream from the sale of these certificates will support the viability of new power generation projects like the Racecourse plant,” D’Ath said.
Mackay Sugar also received a $9.1 million grant from the federal government for the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program.
This, along with the efficiency improvements taking place at the plant will reduce the company’s overall carbon pollution by 71 percent, a government press release said.
Image: Mackay Sugar