ARENA funds feasibility study wood waste biorefinery in New South Wales

In Australia, the Mid North Coast of New South Wales could become home to the world’s first biorefinery turning sawmill residues into renewable diesel and renewable bitumen.

On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced up to $500,000 in funding to Boral Timber, a subsidiary of Boral Limited, to investigate the feasibility of building a ‘second-generation’ biofuels refinery using the waste sawmill residues from the Boral Timber Hardwood Sawmill at Herons Creek near Port Macquarie.

Under the $1.2 million study, Boral will explore the technical and financial viability of establishing a biorefinery using innovative technology, which would be located near the Herons Creek sawmill.