Delorean Corporation (ASX: DEL) has confirmed it has achieved full commissioning and client handover of the Blue Lake Milling Bioenergy Project in South Australia.
The Blue Lake Milling (BLM) Bioenergy Project is a world-first bioenergy plant representing a ground-breaking new application for anaerobic digestion technology. The plant is integrated with BLM’s grain milling operation in Bordertown. It is the first of its kind in the world to process milling by-product (ground oat milled fines or ‘GOMF’) for production of renewable electricity, delivered ‘behind the meter’ to power BLM’s milling operation. Surplus renewable electricity is exported to the grid.
Delorean’s Engineering Division was contracted for the design, turnkey EPC, commissioning and operation of the bioenergy facility.
The bioenergy plant has the capacity to process 12,000 tonnes per annum of GOMF, delivering a baseload power supply of up to 1.2MW of renewable electricity and thermal energy per hour.
The plant will offset in full BLM’s existing and future energy requirements. Approximately 800- 850KW of the bioenergy plant’s output will power Blue Lake Milling’s operations, with the remainder being exported via connection to the South Australia Power Network.
This is an important project for BLM (a subsidiary of CBH Group) as it enables BLM to decarbonise its operations, and it also provides scaling-up opportunities for the business. These opportunities were previously constrained by grid power availability due to the plant’s regional location.
In the face of rising energy prices, BLM is now able to access reliable baseload, lower-cost renewable electricity, and generate new revenues from export of power to the grid as well as through monetisation of Large Scale Generation Certificates.
Delorean has refined a pre-processing method to enable this complex feedstock with varying particle sizes to be processed through anaerobic digestion with very good results.
The performance of this bioenergy plant has substantially exceeded widely accepted standards on bio-methanation of a cellulose-rich feedstock.
The plant has demonstrated higher gas yields than expected with double the speed of gas production. Expert external consultants have also advised that the system shows promise to convert to other cellulose wastes such as wheat straw, rice straw, corn waste and so on. This provides a significant opportunity for Delorean to continue innovation for Australia’s vast agricultural sector.
This is a great achievement by the Delorean team who managed construction through a global pandemic and commissioning of the facility regionally with local management and support,” Managing Director, Joe Oliver, said.
“Whilst we have seen delays in processing this complex feedstock, the IP and knowledge accrued across the company sets Delorean up for future success in this sector and other complex organic feedstocks for renewable energy. This is yet another ground-breaking facility successfully delivered by the team to generate renewable energy and offset fossil fuels. It is a great achievement.”