By Arthur Gorrie
Resource management organisation, the Burnett Mary Regional Group, has applied a new accounting system to help achieve major state government and Japanese oil company backing for a potentially revolutionary farm-based biofuels enterprise.
The not-for-profit group, which is the peak body for natural resource management in an area from Gympie to Gladstone, has announced it will partner with Japanese firms Idemitsu and J-Oil Mills to establish Australia’s first ever commercial Pongamia (Millettia Pinnata) plantation.
The plant, a legume, yields an oil which investors say can provide renewable aviation fuel, while also showing potential as a green manure crop, litter from which can be ploughed in to condition soil and boost soil nitrogen.
Backers say this means it can be grown in association with other crops, or pasture.
The ground-up seed and pod husks can be a raw material for conversion to stockfeed, although its leaves in raw form are not a suitable feed, and the growing plant provides shelter for wildlife.
The project is held up as an example of the success of a BMRG environmental audit conducted last year, aiming at a “quadruple bottom line“ assessment of projects, taking into account environmental, cultural, economic and social factors.
BMRG CEO Sheila Charlesworth said the BMRG-corporate consortium, which is receiving facilitation support from the Queensland Government, “is another step towards the establishment of a sustainable aviation fuel industry.“
“Pongamia is nature positive – it not only gives more to nature than it takes out, its production will also create jobs,” Ms Charlesworth said.
The plant, native to India and northern Australia, is said to have a high yield of oil that can be used in the creation of sustainable aviation fuel. which is where the money is expected to come from.
“When it grows, it also draws CO2 from the atmosphere, contributing to the aviation industry’s drive to realise net zero air travel.
“Additionally, Pongamia can grow on degraded and unproductive land, providing carbon sequestration and biodiversity benefits to landowners.“
Ms Charlesworth said planting Pongamia trees will also create opportunities for local indigenous communities.
“We will be training traditional owner groups in the management and maintenance of the crop, its harvest and processing,” she said.
“Pongamia is an amazing plant. It allows normal neighbouring plant growth and promotes biodiversity through the establishment of habitat for birds and other wildlife.“
A senior Idemitsu executive said the consortium has the potential to make a significant contribution to the development of a low-carbon economy.
“The demand for truly sustainable biofuels is huge. In Japan alone, our government has required that we replace 1.4 million tons of fossil fuels, with eco-friendlier alternatives for aviation by 2030. The potential for Pongamia to fulfil part of this demand is very exciting.“
A J-Oil Mills executive described the announcement as “exciting.“
The BMRG has secured land for the first Pongamia plantations, after an Accounting for Nature audit of the Burnett-Mary region’s 56 million hectares.
The project is currently aimed at a site in the Gladstone district, it has been reported.
