The Wallerawang coal fired power station may be one of the smaller power stations in the state of New South Wales, but it still has the capacity to produce 1000 megawatts of electricity. It has also become the centre of an experiment.              

 

In a new trial, harvested mallee trees, a variety of native eucalyptus, are being turned into biomass pellets. The pellets, which are the wood broken down, dried and compressed, are then used as fuel at the Wallerawang Power Station near Lithgow, Australia.              

 

Delta Energy, one of the largest power generators in Australia, has backed the project. They say the technology has promise as a clean, self-sustaining source of energy.       

 

[Chris Horner, Wallerawang Biomass Project Director]: 

"We're interested in looking at alternative fuel sources that have got a lower carbon footprint than coal.”                  

 

Delta Energy hopes that the pellets can replace a quarter of the coal used at the station in the first stage of the project. Eventually, they hope to reduce overall coal consumption in their power stations and reduce CO2 emissions significantly.

 

What makes this project even more advantageous to Australia is that drought stricken farmers who have been suffering for years can plant and harvest the mallee trees.             

 

Farmer Chris Jones, is taking part in the new trial project and is planting around 50,000 mallee trees. In the past he actually used to clear them off his farm. 

 

[Chris Jones, Farmer]: 

"I wanted a tree that was a crop because they grow and mallee you don't have to replant, you don't fertilize, you don't do anything, you just harvest them.”           

 

The trees are harvestable after five years. They also survive well in low rainfall areas. For Jones, the tree-pellet concept may well be the key to his farm's survival.