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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Business
Matthew Kelly

Noxious weeds to help fuel proposed biomass power plant near Singleton

The former Redbank Power Station would burn noxious weeds under a planning proposal to repurpose it as a biomass generator.

Redbank opened as a coal-fired generator in 2001 and closed in 2014 after the collapse of owner Babcock and Brown.

If a proposal by Verdant Earth is approved the plant would burn 850,000 tonnes of waste wood to produce energy.

Verdant Earth chief executive Richard Poole previously told the Newcastle Herald that several "high net worth Australian families" had recently invested $80million in the company's biomass strategy.

An Environmental Impact Statement, which is presently on public exhibition, says Verdant Earth has been working with industry, Local Landcare Services NSW and landowners who have properties containing noxious weeds that need to be cleared for agricultural uses.

This includes native scrub vegetation that has reached unnatural densities.

"Current practice for weed control is the removal of trees, which are then left to dry for a few weeks before being pushed into a pile and burnt in situ," the document says.

"For the proposal, they would be harvested in accordance with land management codes, then chipped on site and transported to the facility."

The proposal has been slammed by environment groups, which have been fighting to stop Redbank from reopening.

"It's extremely concerning that this polluting project is again rearing its head, and has progressed to the public exhibition stage," Nature Conservation Council of NSW chief executive Jacqui Mumford said.

"Verdant Earth has been trying claim that woodfire power is "green" or "net zero" since they stopped burning coal at Redbank.

"While branding themselves as renewable energy focused, Verdant Earth's PR campaign surrounding Redbank remains replete with talking points from the fossil fuel lobbyists."

Nature Conservation Council of NSW chief executive Jacqui Mumford.

Mr Poole previously said Verdant had plans to establish more biomass generators in Australia.

"I think the idea of modern bioenergy and the idea that we can eventually grow our own (biomass) is a phenomenal solution and putting green hydrogen behind 24 generators is a significant uptick in terms of what we're planning," he said.

"I really like what we are trying to do and I hope we can do more of it."

A scoping report lodged in 2023 said the biomass material would be sourced from approved land clearings.

The NSW Land and Environment Court previously rejected Verdant Earth's appeal of Singleton Council's deemed refusal of the project.

The court ruled that changing the fuel used at Redbank from coal to wood was not permissible under the existing approval.

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