Melbourne-based biodiesel generator supplier Green Power Solutions has designed and installed a 330 kilowatt (KW) system, known as a Micro Bio Power Station, to provide power to a construction site on the Hume Highway in NSW.

It is the first time that power generation from tallow-based biodiesel has been implemented at an Australian construction project of this scale.

The company has become the first mobile generator operator to be accredited by the Federal Government’s Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000.

Gaining this accreditation has allowed Green Power to be eligible to create Large-Scale Generation Certificates for the gross power produced onsite.

The project site

The Hume Highway Woomargama Alliance (HHWA), an alliance of the NSW Roads Traffic Authority, Sinclair Knight Merz and Abigroup, is currently constructing a 9 km bypass for the Hume Highway around the small town of Woomargama in NSW, located 35 km north of Albury.

The biodiesel plant is installed at the location to provide electricity to the project site office, which contains more than 120 staff members.

The biodiesel set-up will be disassembled and moved in a single day when the project is complete, expected to be before the end of October 2011. The infrastructure will then be returned to Green Power’s head office for other future uses.

Environmental benefits

The HHWA selected biodiesel as the fuel source for generators at the construction site in Woomargama as part of a strategic plan to reduce the impact of the project on the local environment.

Use of the system allows the HHWA to set a carbon-neutral energy target, as it is estimated to achieve a monthly reduction of 81 tonnes of CO2 on regular power source emissions.

The project won the International Erosion Control Association’s Environmental Excellence Award for 2010, which recognised the project’s focus on environmental protection and management. It was also a finalist in the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage’s 2011 Green Globe Awards, in the categories of Business Sustainability and Regional Sustainability.

System design

The system comprises a 24,000 litre stainless steel storage tank provided by ProGreen Biofuels, which is regularly topped up with the tallow-based fuel by a delivery service.

The system is fitted with a solar energy heating system to prevent the tallow from dropping below 11° Celsius in temperature, which would cause the fuel to solidify.

The bank of solar collectors and heat exchangers in the solar heating system thermostatically control the fuel, in order to maintain consistent temperature.

Green Power supplied all of the required power for the Woomargama site, including a synchronised pair of 365 kilovolt-ampere Caterpillar generators. These are monitored in Melbourne for performance and maintenance purposes via a remote telemetry system.

While the generators are sophisticated plant parts, they can be serviced by a qualified diesel mechanic. Green Power manages the servicing requirements of the Hume Highway site as part of the contract with the HHWA.

Generating solutions

Green Power Director Danny Williams says there are two essential ingredients to providing biodiesel power at a site like Woomargama.

“Firstly, provide trouble-free equipment that can guarantee reliability, and secondly, provide a continuous supply of high quality, ethical biodiesel,” Mr Williams says.

“We’ve established an associate company, ProGreen Biofuels, which is responsible for sourcing and quality controlling the biodiesel we use in generators.”

The project site established by the HHWA is an example of how businesses can group together to create a sustainable construction footprint and a dynamic project, Mr Williams adds.

“The end result of using a Micro Bio Power Station is that it will allow any alliance to set a carbon-neutral energy target for a project site.”