The plant is expected to process nearly 300,000 tonnes of waste and avoid 300,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere

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GE to supply turbine for waste-to-energy plant in Australia. (Credit: General Electric)

GE has been selected to supply steam turbine technology for a 29MW new waste-to-energy (WtE) plant located in East Rockingham, Australia.

The company has signed a contract with Acciona, which has formed  an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) consortium with Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to build the East Rockingham WtE plant.

GE Steam Power will design, manufacture and supply its geared reaction steam turbine (GRT) for the project.

The East Rockingham WtE plant is owned by John Laing and Masdar/Tribe with 40% stake each, while remaining stake is owned by Acciona Concesiones and HZI.

Acciona commercial manager Andrew Bell said: “The East Rockingham WtE plant is part of ACCIONA’s long-term commitment to projects based on cutting-edge technologies that contribute to sustainability and protecting the environment.

“GE Steam Power was fast and flexible in offering a solution to meet our technical requirements and timeframe, and we look forward to working with them to deliver on this important project leveraging their proven steam turbine solutions.”

Electricity generated by the WtE plant will be enough to power over 36,000 Australian households

Apart from helping the country meet its renewable energy target, the WtE plant will support in meeting local waste management objectives in an environmentally sustainable way.

The electricity generated by the WtE plant will be enough to power over 36,000 Australian households. Nearly half of the electricity from the plant is expected to be fuelled from renewable biogenic material with a minimum CO2 footprint.

Once completed, the WtE plant will be able to treat nearly 300,000 tonnes of waste annually, while preventing more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.

GE Steam Power chief commercial officer Sacha Parneix said: “With nearly two billion tons of municipal waste produced globally each year and expected to increase, the burning of non-recyclable trash that otherwise emits methane from landfills can help to reduce overall greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

“We are proud to support ACCIONA on the East Rockingham WtE project with our proven renewable steam turbine technology to help them convert waste into dependable and reliable energy for the West Australian grid while achieving significant reductions of CO2 emissions for the country and the environment.”