NUT-POWERED PLANT COMMISSIONED

摘要

A world-first "green electricity" power plant fuelled by tonnes of waste macadamia nut shells was officially commissioned in Queensland in September- providing enough environmentally-friendly power to run more than 1200 homes in its first year. The 3 million dollars renewable energy, cogeneration facility is a partnership between leading "green power company Ergon Energy and the world's third-largest macadamia processor Gympie-based Suncoast Gold Macadamias (SGM). The United States, United Kingdom, Africa and Asia are keenly interested in the innovative waste-to-energy facility, which will be inspected by an international delegation next month. During any hour of operation the plant can convert 1,680kg of waste shell into 1.5MW of electricity. It will initially process 5,000 tonnes of shell in its first year and turn a substantial waste stream into a profitable revenue earner for SGM. About 20 percent of the electricity will be used to power SGM's factory with the rest being exported into the national electricity grid.