The Top 10 Australian Bioeconomy stories of 2016

#8: New cellulosic ethanol project in planning

In May, we reported that the national renewable energy agency has approved A$3 million in funding for Renewable Developments Australia to help offset early stage development costs for a proposed A$800 million 350 million liter cellulosic ethanol plant in North Queensland. The funding will go towards irrigation and crop trials for sugarcane and sweet sorghum as well as early-stage engineering to put together a bankable project for presentation to investors and financiers. The facility would represent 80% of domestic ethanol production once online and some would be exported via the Port of Townsend.