Scenario on Bioenergy Development in
Australia
GSB Convention for the Asia-Oceania Region: Kuala Lumpur 14 – 16th June 2010
Andrew Braid,
Sustainable Biomass Production Project
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Australia – not only cities and beaches
Images: ScienceImage CSIRO
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Australia - many landscapes
Images: ScienceImage CSIRO
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Australia – has significant energy resources
• Significant coal, natural gas and uranium resources – major export commodities
• Oil – net importer of oil
• Australia’s energy consumption – Coal 40%, Petroleum products 34%, Natural
gas 22%, Renewables 5%
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Australia – a dry continent
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Current Bioenergy Production in Australia
• Bioenergy is currently a small
part of the Australian energy
mix
Biofuel Production 2007-2008 (ML)
Fuel Ethanol
100
Biodiesel
68
Total Biofuels
168
• Total biofuels produced in
2008 - 0.45% of automotive
IEA Bioenergy, 2009
gasoline and diesel consumed
Electricity from biomass under RET
in Australia that year
at 2008 (GWh)
• Total electricity produced from
biomass under RET in 2008 0.5% of electricity generated
in Australia that year
Bagasse
1050
Black liquor
154
Wood waste
141
Municipal/Ag solid waste
Total Electricity
98
1443
ABARE, 2010
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What could be done: Calculating potential bioenergy
based on current Australian production systems
Method developed by the CSIRO Sustainable Biomass
Production team:
• Calculate the full potential harvest of all feedstocks in the
current agricultural and forestry production systems
•
•
•
•
Starch – cereal grains
Sucrose – sugar cane sugar
Oil – canola, tallow, waste cooking oils
Lignocellulose – stubble, forest/plantations, waste wood
• Estimate the maximum amount of feedstocks that could be
diverted to bioenergy production
• Apply environmental constraints e.g. the amount of stubble and
plantation residues to leave in the field for nutrient cycling, soil
protection, no use of native forests etc
• Take maximum amount available with diversion of export material
to bioenergy
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What could be done: Calculating potential bioenergy
based on current Australian production systems
Results: Biofuels
First generation feedstocks
ML
• Potential ethanol as a percentage
of automotive gasoline consumed
in Australia
• From starch & sugars 49%
• From lignocellulose
65%
Starch & sugars to ethanol
9100
• Potential biodiesel as a
percentage of automotive diesel
consumed in Australia
• From vegetable oils
5%
Lignocellulose to ethanol
• Note: We DO NOT advocate
diversion of food exports to
bioenergy production.
Veg oils to biodiesel
Total
925
10,025
ML
Bagasse
345
Stubbles
9790
Plantation products
1970
Total
12,105
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What could be done: Calculating potential bioenergy
based on current Australian production systems
Results: Electricity
• Alternative use of biomass - take
all potentially available
lignocellulosic feedstocks and use
for electricity generation.
Lignocellulose
feedstocks for electricity
TWh
Bagasse
1.8
Stubbles
28.2
Plantation products
11.5
Total electricity
41.5
• Potential total electricity ~ 16% of
the electricity generated in
Australia in 2008.
Image: ScienceImage CSIRO
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What could be done: Future expansion through
dedicated energy feedstocks
Significant future expansion of the bioenergy
industries in Australia will require dedicated,
purpose-grown, reliable sources of feedstocks
Examples:
• Mallee eucalypt species
• Oilseeds – Canola, Mustard (Brassica juncea),
Pongamia (Pongamia pinnata)
• Algae
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Dedicated energy feedstocks - Mallee
• Australian native ~ 200 mallee
eucalypt species
• Multipurpose plantings in existing crop
lands:
• reduce waterlogging and salinity in
Western Australia’s wheat belt
• revegetate cleared cropping land
• provide carbon sinks
• provide bioenergy, biochar, eucalyptus
oil
• Optimal planting in alleys uses < 10%
crop lands - small impact on food
production
• Bioenergy potential – Mallee could
contribute ~ 9% Australia’s electricity
or as ethanol ~ 24% of automotive
gasoline (CSIRO SBP)
Images: ScienceImage CSIRO
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Dedicated energy feedstocks – oilseeds
• Canola and mustard (Brassica juncea)
• Used as break crops for disease
control in wheat production
• Mustard being developed for use in
low-rainfall (300 – 500 mm/pa)
cropping areas and for regional
biodiesel production
• Increased oilseed crop rotations will
impact wheat production
Brassica juncea test plot (Image: farmonline.ord)
• Pongamia
• Already growing around northern
Australian rivers
• Active research on development but no
Australian production figures available
• Limited available growing areas
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Image: Tom Jovancovic CSIRO
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Dedicated energy feedstocks – algae
• Algae research in Australia
• Algal Fuels Consortium, Murdoch
University, James Cook University,
CSIRO
• CSIRO SBP estimate of potential
production based on locations with:
• CO2 source – power stations, coalseam methane, human or animal
waste
• High sun exposure
• Sea water
• Potential production (large variation
due to lack of established production
systems) 800 to 4,600 ML biodiesel
or 4% to 25% of Australia’s diesel
consumption
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Australia – land-use-change and available land
Legislation to protect native vegetation and limited irrigation water would likely
limit the available land for expansion of bioenergy production to the areas
identified as “grazing modified pastures” and “dryland cropping and dryland
horticulture”.
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Sustainability issues in the production of
bioenergy in Australia
• No significant sustainability issues with current biofuel and bioenergy
production based on waste streams and residues - C-molasses, waste
starch, used cooking oils, bagasse, waste wood etc.
• Expanding the use of stubble and plantation materials will need
constraints to mitigate potential environmental impacts.
• Expansion of multi-purpose agricultural plantings – e.g. Mallee, could
produce significant amounts of biomass with minimal land-use-change
or effect on food production, improve biodiversity and regenerate saline
sinks
• Expansion of dedicated bioenergy plantations e.g. pongamia, would
require land-use-change and would most likely impact food production,
biodiversity and water
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Sustainability research – CSIRO SBP team
• Major Australian review of the
sustainability issues:
“Sustainable Production of Bioenergy”
• Review of international frameworks
• Overview of relevant Australian
policies
• Options for way forward in Australia
• Other sustainability research
• Sustainability of stubble harvesting
• Road-mapping sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) production in Australia
• RSB Pilot Project on certification of an
Australian ethanol plant
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Australian policies – Commonwealth Government
Policies relevant to bioenergy development
• Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)
• A price on carbon is seen by industry as a major driver for the
development of bioenergy in Australia. Legislation of the CPRS has been
delayed until 2013
• Energy White Paper
• The Commonwealth government has developed an Energy White Paper
which included a Biofuels Review. Release of the Energy White Paper has
been delayed with the decision on the CPRS.
• Renewable Energy Target
• To produce 20% (45,000 GWh) of Australia’s electricity from renewable
sources (solar, wind, biomass etc) by 2020. Incentive – tradeable
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
• Regulations specify sustainably produced biomass eligible for RECs
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Australian policies – Commonwealth Government
Policies relevant to bioenergy development (cont).
• Clean Energy Initiative (DRET)
• Example: $15M funding of the Second Generation Biofuels Research and
Development Program (Gen2)
• Fuel Tax (excise) – Australian Taxation Office
• Biodiesel and Ethanol carry the normal fuel excise of 38.143 cents/litre
• These are 100% offset by the Ethanol Production Grant and the Energy
Grants Cleaner Fuels Scheme to encourage biofuel production
• From July 2011 the offsets will start phasing down at 20% per year.
• Biofuel Mandates
• The Commonwealth Government has NOT set mandates for biofuels or
bioenergy
• Sustainability Framework and/or Sustainability Assessment Schemes
• At this time the Commonwealth Government does not have a process that
oversees the sustainability of bioenergy products in Australia
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Australian policies – State and Territory Governments
• Mandates or targets
• New South Wales (NSW)
• Volumetric Ethanol Mandate – currently 4%, rising to 10% in all regular
unleaded petrol from July 2011.
• Queensland
• 5% ethanol in all regular unleaded petrol from January 2011
• Victoria and Western Australia
• 5% biofuel targets for 2010
• Regional Development
• State and Territory Governments see bioenergy as a potential
contributor to regional development
• Sustainability Framework and/or Sustainability Assessment
Schemes
• NSW has legislated that biofuels under the mandate must meet the
Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) Standard
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In Conclusion:
• Australia is a large, mainly dry continent with significant fossil
energy resources. The development of the bioenergy industries
in Australia is small.
• Commonwealth and State government support for the
development of bioenergy industries is variable and differs
between governments.
• There is significant potential in Australia for sustainable
production of lignocellulosic biomass for bioenergy from
agricultural and plantation residues, and multi-purpose
plantings in dryland cropping areas
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Acknowledgements
Thank you to:
• Global Sustainable Bioenergy and Prof. Ramlan Abd. Aziz,
Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee for the invitation to
speak today.
• Dr. Zainul Akmar Zakaria and his associates for their assistance in
arranging for my visit.
and:
The CSIRO Sustainable Biomass Production team:
Deborah O’Connell, John Raison, Damien Farine, Barry May,
Michael O’Connor, Michael Dunlop, Alexander Herr, Joely Taylor,
Luis Rodriguez, Peter Campbell, Michael Poole, Debbie Crawford,
Tom Jovanovic
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CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Dr Andrew Braid
Phone: 02 6242 1638
Email: Andrew.Braid@csiro.au
Thank you
Contact Us
Phone: 1300 363 400 or +61 3 9545 2176
Email: Enquiries@csiro.au Web: www.csiro.au
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