ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said an innovative woody biomass harvester, which can also significantly lower the cost of producing wood chips for biomass, will be further developed and tested by Biosystems Engineering.
"Fast growing trees have the potential to offer an attractive renewable feedstock if a cost effective harvesting method were developed.
Biosystems Engineering plans to collect biomass from certain species of eucalyptus trees that can be harvested every three to five years.
"Using them as a renewable fuel may offer a win-win outcome for farmers and could potentially create a new model for community based biomass energy hubs in rural Australia."
The $3.5m project is designed to collect 15,000 tons of chipped Mallee at a plantation near Casino in NSW during a 33 day harvester trial and will be used to supplement feedstock to the 30MW bioenergy power plant at the Broadwater sugar mill in New South Wales, Australia.
"Biosystems Engineering plans to increase the size of the harvester and upgrade the design to enable it to operate under full-scale commercial conditions.
"The harvester also has potential as an Australian technology export, should it be successfully developed and perform to expectations."
The project is due to be completed in 2017.
