Civil works are well under way at MSF Sugar’s $75 million green energy power plant near Mareeba on the Atherton Tableland.

Construction company Goodline is working with EPC contractor Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions on the project, expected to be completed in July 2018.

The 24MW bagasse-fired plant at Tableland Sugar Mill is expected to be the first of four green energy power plants  to be built at MSF Sugar operations across Queensland.

It will also act as a precursor to a proposed $100 million biorefinery venture involving construction of a $60 million distillery and year-round operations drawing on sugar cane and blue agave as feedstocks.

Raw sugar would be produced for six months of the year, while green baseload electricity and bioethanol would be produced year-round, MSF Sugar general manager business development Hywel Cook said.

“The construction of a large-scale green power station at the Tableland Mill is the first stage of the biorefinery project,” Mr Cook said.

“The supply of electricity and steam will be required by the ethanol distillery.

“The recently announced feasibility study for the biorefinery will involve making a decision to grow 4000ha of blue agave, which will allow the processing of two different types of biomass in the biorefinery complex.”

Mr Cook said MSF Sugar expected to make a final decision on the biorefinery project in 2020.

“If a positive decision is made in 2020 then the first blue agave will be planted in 2021 and construction of distillery to commence in 2023, with a projected completion date of 2024,” he said.

Meanwhile boots are on the ground for the green energy power plant build, with crews continuing to lay concrete foundations.

Mr Cook said there was a workforce of 20 construction personnel on site and this would increase to about 70 by December and peak around 80 in February 2018.

The boiler and turbine hall foundations are expected to be finished this month, with boiler installation scheduled to start in September.

All major components for the project are being fabricated off site.

• Potential suppliers interested in project work should contact Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions procurement manager Martin Readford at [email protected]  or phone (03) 9207 5761.