BIOENERGY ROADMAP

In 2018 at the request of the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, the Hon. Angus Taylor MP, ARENA invested in the development of a roadmap to identify the economic and emissions reduction opportunities from the bioenergy sector.

Following a competitive process in 2020, ARENA appointed Enea Consulting and Deloitte Australia to assist in developing the Bioenergy Roadmap.

The Bioenergy Roadmap will help to inform the next series of investment and policy decisions by the private and public sectors in the bioenergy industry in Australia.

The Bioenergy Roadmap has been developed through stakeholder consultation, data collection and evaluation, scenario analysis and modelling of economic impacts.

ARENA sought views from a cross-section of Australian businesses, research groups, industry associations, community groups, governments and individuals.

Outcome
The Bioenergy Roadmap reveals that by the start of the next decade, Australia’s bioenergy sector could contribute to around $10 billion in extra GDP per annum, create 26,200 new jobs, reduce emissions by about 9 per cent, divert an extra 6 per cent of waste from landfill, and enhance fuel security.

The Roadmap highlights the opportunities bioenergy offers for regional development. Many of the bioenergy feedstocks come from agricultural activities, such as sugarcane waste and the livestock industries. As a majority of these industries are regional, bioenergy investment will support long-term regional employment, provide additional revenue streams for farmers and ultimately national economic growth.

The Bioenergy Roadmap has four key themes:
1.   Enabling market opportunities in hard-to-abate sectors: in renewable industrial heat, sustainable aviation fuel and renewable gas grid injection. These opportunities currently have limited low emissions alternatives.
2.   Enabling market opportunities where bioenergy can complement other low emissions alternatives: in the road transport and electricity markets.
3.   Developing our resources: Australia has a significant bioenergy resource potential. However, there is insufficient clarity and detail over the viability and sustainability of these resources.
4.   Building supportive ecosystems: An enduring and successful bioenergy industry will require concerted efforts beyond those relating to markets and feedstocks. It will be necessary to harness an ecosystem that links the diverse parts of the bioenergy industry to facilitate its growth.