PLANS for Gunnedah’s Primary Energy are still on track despite a decision by BP Australia to back away from ethanol use.
Matthew Kelley, the Currububula farmer and businessman driving the Primary Energy project, told The Leader yesterday a decision by BP Australia to withdraw from a commitment to take the entire offtake from Primary Energy’s planned ethanol plant in Kwinana, a Perth suburb, had been “like a bolt from the blue”.
He rejected claims by Member for Tamworth Peter Draper that the decision did not augur well for the Gunnedah proposal.
Mr Kelley said he would be happy to drop a copy of the 600-page environmental assessment for the Gunnedah project onto Mr Draper’s desk for him to read.
He said only 17 per cent of the projected income for the Primary Energy plant would come from ethanol.
The Perth plant had expected to generate 80 per cent of its income from ethanol.
“The two plants were mutually exclusive businesses,” Mr Kelley said.
He said since the announcement by BP Australia there had been a surprising amount of inquiry from other companies to take up the ethanol production from the proposed Perth plant.
“We were only six weeks away from the beginning of construction,” he said.
“I cannot explain their sudden withdrawal.”
The next step for the Gunnedah project will be for the Primary Energy environmental consultant to meet with Gunnedah council.
An application would then be submitted to the NSW Department of Planning.
“Primary Energy people have shown great vision in trying to develop the ethanol industry, and are to be commended for attempting to introduce economic development in a community like Gunnedah,” Mr Draper said.
He said it was unfortunate the Primary Energy vision appeared to have fallen victim to both government incompetence and the games of multinational companies who at the end of the day don’t support the ethanol
industry.
Mr Kelley was confident a number of buyers would be seeking to use ethanol produced from the Gunnedah plant once
constructed.
“We’re going to be incorporating a lot of next generation technology in the Gunnedah plant.
Primary Energy plans to use by-product from the distilling process to generate electricity and fertiliser.
Mr Draper said information on the future viability of the Gunnedah project was essential given the $1.1 million cash injection provided as part of the Namoi Valley Structural Adjustment Package.
“The $1.1 million was not simply an investment in one business. The clear intent of this funding was to stimulate the Gunnedah economy through structural adjustment, hopefully compensating for the reductions to water allocations and the resulting impacts in the Namoi Valley,” Mr Draper said.