Yarra Valley Water Waste To Energy Lilydale

Yarra Valley Water Waste To Energy Lilydale is an alternative waste treatment project located at the Lilydale Sewage Treatment Plant, approximately 35 kilometers northeast of Melbourne's CBD in Victoria. Registered in June 2023, the project involves the construction of a dedicated $48 million facility designed to divert approximately 55,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial food waste from landfills annually. The facility occupies a site of roughly 3 hectares within the existing treatment plant grounds.

The project operates under the Carbon Farming Initiative-Alternative Waste Treatment methodology. This method generates carbon credits by processing mixed solid waste, specifically organic food waste in this instance, through anaerobic digesters. By capturing the biogas produced during decomposition and using it to generate renewable electricity, the project prevents the methane emissions that would otherwise be released if the waste were left to rot in a landfill.

Lilydale serves as the gateway to the Yarra Valley, a region celebrated for its wineries, grazing land, and peri-urban agriculture. The area experiences a cool temperate climate with moderate-to-high rainfall, averaging around 950mm annually. The local terrain typically features clay and clay-loam soils, which are characteristic of the river valleys in the region.

This facility is Yarra Valley Water’s second waste-to-energy initiative, following the success of their Wollert facility. Once fully operational, it is expected to generate approximately 39,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day, enough to power the sewage treatment plant and export surplus energy to the grid. The project is a key component of the water corporation's strategy to achieve net-zero emissions and significantly reduce waste volume in the state.