Norske Skog Boyer Mill Heat Recovery Project

Norske Skog Boyer Mill Heat Recovery Project is an industrial electricity and fuel efficiency project located at the Boyer Paper Mill in Boyer, Tasmania, situated along the Derwent River approximately 36 km northwest of Hobart. It was registered in June 2016 and covers an unspecified area, though the mill site itself spans 565 hectares. The surrounding Derwent Valley region is known for forestry operations that supply the mill, as well as agricultural grazing and viticulture.

Industrial electricity and fuel efficiency projects improve energy performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by modifying, installing, removing, or replacing equipment that affects the energy consumption of existing operations. This specific project involves waste heat capture and re-use as well as optimizing process heat, aiming to reduce the fuel demands of the energy-intensive paper manufacturing process.

The Derwent Valley environment generally experiences a relatively low rainfall climate compared to the rest of Tasmania, with the local Boyer area recording an annual rainfall of around 360mm to 500mm. Soils in the region are typically duplex soils, consisting of sandy clay loams over heavy clays, alongside alluvial deposits near the river.

Originally established in 1941, the Boyer Mill was Australasia's first producer of newsprint. The carbon project was contracted in November 2016, though its specific carbon abatement contract (CAC988641) has since terminated or lapsed. Norske Skog owned and operated the mill for 25 years before selling it in early 2025 to Boyer Corporation, an entity established by Australian businessman David Marriner. The site continues its decarbonization efforts today, recently securing federal funding to replace its traditional coal-fired boilers with a new 60MW electric electrode boiler.