* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, June 6, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

    Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

    Shows to Watch – The Advocate

    Must-See Shows You Can’t Miss!

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    ‘Sinners,’ starring Michael B. Jordan, is now streaming on Prime Video – About Amazon

    Experience the Thrills of ‘Sinners’ Starring Michael B. Jordan – Now Streaming on Prime Video!

    California Mid-State Fair announces entertainment lineups for Frontier and Mission stages – KSBY News

    Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for California Mid-State Fair’s Frontier and Mission Stages!

    Spotify & OpenAI: Will Gen AI ‘Hollow Out’ Entertainment? – Technology Magazine

    Will Generative AI Transform the Future of Entertainment

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Waunakee Fifth-Graders Dive into the Future at Exciting Tech Day!

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says – MarketBeat

    UBS Analyst Predicts Surge in Micron Technology Stock Price!

    Domo to Participate in the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit – Business Wire

    Domo Set to Shine at the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit!

    When fiction becomes fact: 3 pieces of modern technology inspired by Star Trek – Redshirts Always Die

    From Screen to Reality: 3 Modern Technologies Inspired by Star Trek

    The Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology – UCF, ZPP, and IRR10 – Alma Research and Education Center

    Exploring the Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology: Innovations and Insights from UCF, ZPP, and IRR10

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

    Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

    Shows to Watch – The Advocate

    Must-See Shows You Can’t Miss!

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    ‘Sinners,’ starring Michael B. Jordan, is now streaming on Prime Video – About Amazon

    Experience the Thrills of ‘Sinners’ Starring Michael B. Jordan – Now Streaming on Prime Video!

    California Mid-State Fair announces entertainment lineups for Frontier and Mission stages – KSBY News

    Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for California Mid-State Fair’s Frontier and Mission Stages!

    Spotify & OpenAI: Will Gen AI ‘Hollow Out’ Entertainment? – Technology Magazine

    Will Generative AI Transform the Future of Entertainment

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Waunakee Fifth-Graders Dive into the Future at Exciting Tech Day!

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says – MarketBeat

    UBS Analyst Predicts Surge in Micron Technology Stock Price!

    Domo to Participate in the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit – Business Wire

    Domo Set to Shine at the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit!

    When fiction becomes fact: 3 pieces of modern technology inspired by Star Trek – Redshirts Always Die

    From Screen to Reality: 3 Modern Technologies Inspired by Star Trek

    The Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology – UCF, ZPP, and IRR10 – Alma Research and Education Center

    Exploring the Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology: Innovations and Insights from UCF, ZPP, and IRR10

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

How problem weeds could power up a former coal generator

April 14, 2024
in News
How problem weeds could power up a former coal generator
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Owners of a former coal-fired power station in rural Australia are looking to weeds to help fuel its second lease on life as the nation’s largest modern biomass generator.

Verdant Earth Technologies plans to transform the Redbank Power Station in the NSW Hunter Valley into a bioenergy hub powered by woody weeds from properties near Cobar.

It is estimated there are millions of tonnes of invasive native scrub (INS) around the region, a problem farmers have been battling for years.

INS is a label given to native vegetation when it takes over the landscape, depleting biodiversity and competing for water and sunlight that would otherwise grow quality grazing grasses.

At Etiwanda Station, the Mosely family has been regenerating their 20,000-hectare property to improve soil health and overall productivity, getting rid of some INS as part of the process.

“Those INS dominated areas, there’s a lot of bare ground, the rain just runs off and doesn’t go in. It’s eroding the soil, it’s not growing any grass for livestock or for biodiversity,” Mr Mosely said.

Drone photo of a farm showing a thick tree line(left),red soils with scrub in the foreground and improved pasture(back).

The Mosely family has been working to improve ground cover with native grasses, instead of bare with INS absorbing its moisture.(Landline: Olivia Ralph)

Mr Mosely said getting rid of the scrub was an “expensive and slow process” using bulldozers to lie it down and push into piles to burn it.

It is all done under guidelines set by state government agency Local Land Services (LLS) and has seen the Moselys double their livestock carrying capacity on the improved country.

“We’re replacing a problem native species with a beneficial native species,” he said. 

“It’s not about broadscale land clearing and turning it into cropping country, it’s about dealing with an issue. It’s about providing opportunities for the next generation.”

The family is now intrigued by the prospect of being paid for the INS as Verdant Earth Technologies looks to restart the mothballed Redbank Power Station, more than seven hours away near Singleton.

“It seems just a terrible waste to burn it in the paddock and not get any benefit or any value out of that waste material,” Mr Mosely said. 

A mob of goats run through a paddock, kicking up dust from the red soil

The Mosely family run goats, sheep, and cattle across 20,000 hectares.(Landline: Amelia Bernasconi)

How will the invasive scrub make power?

Like the traditional coal-fired power that has long underpinned Australia’s grid, biomass power is also created through a thermal energy generation process.

Verdant Earth Technologies CEO Richard Poole said bioenergy is “an untapped opportunity in Australia”.

“Anywhere where you’re burning anything it should be put into a power station to create electricity,” he said.

two men in hi-viz in conversation.

Verdant Earth’s Richard Poole (right) believes biomass is not properly considered in Australia’s energy mix.(Landline: Amelia Bernasconi)

In the past decade, 10 coal generators have closed, including Redbank in its first life and nearby Liddell in 2023.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said the rest of Australia’s coal fleet would retire within the next 15 years.

With that, AEMO is forecasting an energy shortfall from as early as next year.

There has been a significant increase in renewable energy being delivered through the National Electricity Market (NEM), but AEMO said it would need to triple by 2030 and increase seven-fold by 2050 to meet demand.

Electrochemical engineer Dr Jessica Allen said Australia needed a diversity of energy sources as the nation “hurtles full steam ahead” on its decarbonisation journey.

“What we need to do is anything and everything,” she said. 

“We need as much solar, wind, and renewable energy as possible. As well as renewable energy generation we also need storage, things like batteries, potentially pumped hydro, so that we can access and use energy when we need to 24/7.”

A blonde-haired woman in a white lab coats stands smiling to camera in a scientific lab.

Dr Jessica Allen doesn’t expect biomass projects to take off at a broad scale, but says the Redbank opportunity is unique.(Landline: Amelia Bernasconi)

Experts doubt large-scale uptake

Redbank Power Station first roared to life in 2001, powered by black coal tailings from nearby mines.

It closed in 2014 after racking up close to $200 million in debt.

Verdant Earth bought the plant in 2018 and is awaiting a NSW government assessment on plans to restart it as a 151-megawatt bioenergy generator.

The company said it would process about 700,000 tonnes of dried biomass each year, powering about 200,000 homes.

Dr Allen said what Verdant Earth was proposing at Redbank was a unique opportunity.

“It makes sense to make higher value chemicals with biomass rather than just burning them for electricity.

“That said, burning them for electricity in a plant that already exists, with a feedstock that’s a waste product also, has its advantages,” Dr Allen said.

“For Redbank, that plant already exists. A large amount of the up-front emissions as well as costs is already there.”

A wide exterior picture of a thermal power station

Redbank Power Station has sat idle, under care and maintenance, for a decade.(Landline: Bindi Bryce)

To build a site like Redbank from scratch is estimated to cost $720 million, more than double the price of a solar or wind farm of the same megawatt output.

Verdant Earth expects the switch from coal to biomass at the site would cost about $80 million.

Resistance to reviving Redbank

The Redbank restart is facing some opposition.

Nature Conservation Council NSW CEO Jacqui Mumford said the there were concerns around the impact the project could have on air quality.

“Burning timber products is a huge issue in terms of air pollution,” she said.

“It creates PM2.5 particles in the atmosphere, which we know is associated with a raft of respiratory problems.

“So it’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for the climate, and it’s bad for people’s health.”

A woman with blonde/brown hair smiles to camera

Jacqui Mumford said restarting Redbank would be bad for the community and the climate.(Supplied)

Ms Mumford said the project was not needed in the transition away from fossil fuels.

“If we have the necessary reforms in the planning system, if we have the right incentives in place, we can absolutely get off fossil fuels in the time required without projects like this slowing us down,” she said.

Verdant Earth’s Mr Poole wants Redbank to become a net zero operation.

To complement the INS, Verdant Earth plans to grow its own fuel, and the company is in talks with nearby mines to utilise their buffer zones.

And regardless of the NSW government decision on Redbank’s future, the Mosely family plans to continue to improve the health of Etiwanda Station.

“We’re extremely proud of what we’ve done with the landscape. It’s healthier, it’s more resilient, it’s more productive,” Mr Mosley said.

Red dirt can be seen through scrub with a decomposing tree in the background.

NSW Local Land Services has strict guidelines to help rid parts of the western district of invasive native scrub.(Landline: Amelia Bernasconi)

Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday.

Posted 16h ago16 hours agoSat 13 Apr 2024 at 8:00pm, updated 14h ago14 hours agoSat 13 Apr 2024 at 10:24pm

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : ABC News (AU) – https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-04-14/invasive-native-scrub-to-energy-at-redbank-biomass-power-station/103640162

Tags: newsproblemweeds
Previous Post

Israel hails ‘success’ in blocking Iran’s unprecedented attack. Biden now seeks diplomatic response

Next Post

Lawyer ditches concrete jungle to fix fences in the outback

Waunakee Fifth-Graders Dive into the Future at Exciting Tech Day!

June 6, 2025
Kenton Ridge wins 1st state high school championship – Yahoo Sports

Kenton Ridge Claims Historic First State High School Championship!

June 6, 2025
Ecological Restoration Service Market to Reach USD 87.9 Bn by 2031, Growing at 9.4% CAGR – openPR.com

Ecological Restoration Service Market Set to Soar to $87.9 Billion by 2031 with a Robust 9.4% Growth Rate!

June 6, 2025
Boise State moves forward with plans for new science building, signaling an investment in STEM majors – The Arbiter | Boise State

Boise State Unveils Ambitious Plans for Cutting-Edge Science Building, Boosting STEM Education!

June 6, 2025
The Science Of De-Extinction Is Providing Hope For Nature’s Future – Forbes

Reviving the Past: How De-Extinction Science Offers New Hope for Our Planet’s Future

June 6, 2025
Cardi B Slams Offset For Allegedly Not Helping With Kids’ Six-Figure Lifestyle – HOT 97

Cardi B Calls Out Offset for Failing to Support Their Kids’ Luxurious Lifestyle!

June 6, 2025
Hollywood legend Tom Cruise becomes record holder for his fiery Mission Impossible stunt – Guinness World Records

Tom Cruise Sets the Bar High with Record-Breaking Fiery Stunt in Mission Impossible!

June 6, 2025
India could become third largest economy in the world this year: Borge Brende – MSN

India Poised to Become the World’s Third Largest Economy This Year!

June 6, 2025
9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

June 6, 2025
Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

June 6, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (670)
  • Economy (684)
  • Entertainment (21,590)
  • General (15,267)
  • Health (9,725)
  • Lifestyle (687)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (685)
  • Politics (691)
  • Science (15,902)
  • Sports (21,188)
  • Technology (15,670)
  • World (669)

Recent News

Waunakee Fifth-Graders Dive into the Future at Exciting Tech Day!

June 6, 2025
Kenton Ridge wins 1st state high school championship – Yahoo Sports

Kenton Ridge Claims Historic First State High School Championship!

June 6, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version