Birkenhead additional wood firing project

Birkenhead Additional Wood Firing Project is an industrial electricity and fuel efficiency project located at the Adelaide Brighton Cement facility in Birkenhead, an industrial suburb approximately 14km northwest of the Adelaide CBD in South Australia. Registered in October 2015, the specific project area size is undefined as it is a site-specific industrial facility upgrade rather than a traditional land-based operation. The surrounding land on the LeFevre Peninsula is heavily characterized by urban and industrial use along the Port River.

The project operates under the Industrial Electricity and Fuel Efficiency methodology. This method grants Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to facilities that reduce their emissions by upgrading or replacing equipment, changing control systems, or modifying the energy mix of existing energy-consuming equipment. In this case, the project focuses on fuel switching by utilizing wood and alternative biomass to partially substitute fossil fuels in the cement kiln, thereby lowering the carbon intensity of the cement manufacturing process.

The Adelaide region is known for its Mediterranean climate, characterized by moderate, winter-dominant rainfall and warm to hot summers. Native soil profiles in this coastal estuarine region typically consist of sandy soils and estuarine clays, though the project environment itself is built upon highly modified, hardstand industrial land.

The project has achieved major regulatory milestones, notably completing its carbon abatement contract (CAC102100) with the Clean Energy Regulator in July 2023. Additionally, regulatory records indicate that in July 2020, the Clean Energy Regulator issued a compliance notice under section 88 of the CFI Act requiring the proponent, Adelaide Brighton Cement Limited, to relinquish 12,177 ACCUs associated with the project.