Mt Evelyn Biodiesel Project
The Mt Evelyn Biodiesel Project is a partnership between the Victorian Government, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Alternative Technology Association (ATA), Shire of Yarra Ranges, AFE Alternative Fuels and Energy, Fastfuel, Tiamat Goldiesel, local businesses and consumers.
The Shire’s fleet will be contracted to use Biodiesel for 12 months as a trial. Biodiesel will be charged at a little above cost to help defray setup costs and ensure that the project and ongoing reduction in greenhouse gas and air toxics can be achieved. Pricing of the biodiesel should be less than petro-diesel, ensuring that a customer base can be secured.
The plant will be built in a shipping container by a company who make small personal biodiesel plants. It will literally then be a “plug and play” installation as the plant will be delivered on site, plugged into power, water and storage containers, and be operational.
Takeaway, fast-food and restaurants would be pleased to have a service to remove their waste oil at no cost. They will be informed of the project’s outcomes through a newsletter and local publicity. A sign/poster/certificate will be presented to them saying they are helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions so they gain local recognition as a “green business”.
The partners in this project have excellent capacity to stimulate community participation. ATA is a not-for-profit organisation that has been promoting sustainable energy and water conservation for over 20 years.
Our expected outcomes are a demonstrable and self-funding Biodiesel plant that could easily be reproduced and transported to any community or regional centre. By creating a simple, standardised plant that is easy to use and maintain, it would encourage the use of this fuel in a variety of communities including transport companies and local councils. This model will be used as the basis from which to produce and distribute similar production units.
Further information
Mt
Evelyn Biodiesel Project
Shire of Yarra Ranges