VP8 Fuel Substitution

VP8 Fuel Substitution is an Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction project located at Gibson Island in Murarrie, approximately 10km east of the Brisbane CBD in Queensland. It was registered in May 2021 by Visy Paper Pty Ltd, with the project proponent later changing to Northmore Gordon Pty Ltd in April 2023. The project footprint encompasses the heavy industrial land use of the Visy Paper 8 (VP8) paper mill, a major manufacturing facility sitting on the banks of the Brisbane River.

The Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction methodology allows businesses to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by upgrading or modifying their operations to reduce overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Standard requirements involve establishing a historical baseline of emissions intensity, with credits generated when equipment changes demonstrably reduce fuel or electricity usage per unit of production. For this project, activities are highly extensive and include boiler upgrades, fuel switching, cogeneration or trigeneration, turbine installations, and onsite renewable energy generation to substitute grid-purchased electricity.

The Murarrie area of Brisbane features a subtropical climate characterised by moderate to high annual rainfall of approximately 980mm to 1000mm, with the wettest periods typically occurring in late summer. Due to its location on the estuarine floodplain of the Brisbane River, the dominant local soils consist of alluvial sands, silts, and soft estuarine clays, alongside some higher strength residual clay soils.

Interestingly, the VP8 facility was constructed on the site of a historic power station in 1996 and was recognised as one of the fastest and most efficient packaging paper machines in the world at the time. In addition to this fuel substitution project, the site also hosts a concurrently registered ACCU project named "VP8 Landfill Avoidance". The industrial site is also adjacent to a significant local environmental rehabilitation initiative, the Gibson Island Rehabilitation Project, which has been working to restore native vegetation and clear industrial runoff along the local riparian zones.