Power first for MG
Turbine time: Jeff Funnell from Hulls Engineering Leongatha and Daniel Annis of Massachusetts, USA working on the steam turbine.
MURRAY Goulburn’s new biogas project at its Leongatha factory will save the company $300,000 in electricity per year.
The project will supply nine per cent of the plant’s power needs.
Using waste gases to generate electricity, the project has won this year’s Victoria award for sustainable projects from the Australian Institute of Project Management.
MG could win the national award at a presentation ceremony in Darwin today (Tuesday).
The $1.8million project is the only one of its type in Australia and has been delivered with the support of Sustainability Victoria.
Methane from the waste water treatment plant is trapped and collected and then run through engines that are capable of producing up to 760KW of electricity. This is then fed into the factory via a 440m high voltage underground cable.
There is potential for future upgrades to enable the factory to supply all its electricity needs.
The savings generated give the project a payback period of three years.
Matthew Percival, Murray Goulburn’s energy engineer, said installation of the project had been a major milestone for the company.
“The waste water treatment plant is the priority, whatever biogas we get is a bonus,” he said.
South Gippsland Water pipes the cleaned water to an outfall at Venus Bay.
According to Murray Goulburn’s site development engineer, Craig Turner, South Gippsland Water has installed a new diffuser and will soon remove the trestle on the beach.
“The diffuser is a much better mechanism to distribute the waste water rather than a single entry pipe,” Mr Turner said.
Another efficiency project at the plant is nearing completion.
The new steam turbine will make the most of the energy to convert it to electricity rather than being lost through pressure reduction.
Jeff Funnell from Leongatha’s Hulls Engineering, has been working on the $5 million project. Daniel Annis, representative of the American turbine manufacturer, was in town last week to provide technical assistance.
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