We hosted the Primary Industries and Resources Committee to site tours of our Sarina Distillery and Pioneer Mill last week.

The committee was in Mackay and Townsville to chair public hearings for the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into Sugarcane Bioenergy Opportunities.

Our site tours were an opportunity to show committee members the scale of our existing renewables operations and talk about future investment opportunities.

Sarina Distillery is the only commercial-scale bioethanol distillery in Queensland, producing about 60 million litres of bioethanol from molasses a year.

Pioneer Mill in the Burdekin is home to the sugar industry’s largest biomass generator, with 68MW installed capacity. Our eight factories currently export enough renewable electricity to power more than 50,000 homes for a year.

Mark Greenwood, General Manager Commercial, said Wilmar welcomed the Bioenergy Inquiry and saw it as a timely step in securing the long-term sustainability and viability of the Queensland sugar industry.

He said the business was investigating the potential for producing black pellets from bagasse, as a renewable replacement fuel for coal.

“We’re also progressing a feasibility study into the production of first-generation (1G) ethanol from sugarcane juice to underpin the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)," he said.

Both studies are part-funded by the Queensland Bioenergy Fund.

Mr Greenwood said that, while the SAF market was still developing, early research and feasibility studies were vital to ensure Queensland could capture the opportunity when demand emerges.

“We know aviation will need low-carbon liquid fuel options in the future, and our industry is well placed to be part of that solution."

Mr Greenwood said the business was also exploring opportunities to expand its cogeneration capacity.

“This would be technically feasible but requires supportive policy and market frameworks to improve the profitability of existing cogeneration investments and make new investment viable.”