Westbury BioHub

Turning organic waste into renewable gas

The Westbury BioHub is a proposed commercial-scale renewable gas facility being developed by Solstice Energy and Optimal Renewable Gas at Westbury in Northern Tasmania.

The BioHub will apply proven European anaerobic digestion and gas-upgrading technology in Australia, converting agricultural residues and food processing organic waste into renewable biomethane gas and organic fertiliser.

The renewable gas produced by the BioHub is intended to be added into Tasmania's existing gas network, directly replacing some natural gas, allowing biomethane to be supplied to industrial and other gas users through existing infrastructure and used in existing equipment.

The project brings together agriculture, waste and resource recovery, renewable energy and industry in a practical circular economy project based in regional Tasmania.

Project status: The project remains in development and is progressing through funding, community consultation, engineering, environmental and planning processes. Construction remains subject to required approvals and Final Investment Decision.

About the project

The Westbury BioHub is being jointly developed by Solstice Energy and Optimal Renewable Gas.

The proposed facility would process organic residues and by-products (waste) from agricultural, agri-industrial activities and use anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. Anaerobic digestion is a natural process where microorganisms break down organic material without oxygen, producing biogas and fertiliser. The digestion process takes place in sealed tanks.

The biogas would then be upgraded to biomethane suitable for use in Tasmania's existing gas infrastructure.

The process would also produce digestate, which is the nutrient-rich material left after the digestion process, and can be processed into an organic fertiliser product, returning nutrients back to the farm for agricultural use.

Based on the current project design, at full production, the BioHub is expected to process approximately 36,000 tonnes of organic material each year and produce approximately 188 terajoules of renewable biomethane annually. That’s equal to about 3 percent of Tasmania’s natural gas use each year.

The project is also expected to produce approximately 12,000 tonnes of organic fertiliser each year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 13,300 tonnes of CO₂-e annually.

How the BioHub Works

The BioHub works by taking organic residue waste from farms and food processing, breaking it down inside sealed tanks to produce biogas, then upgrading that gas so it can be used in Tasmania’s existing gas network. The remaining nutrient-rich material can be turned into organic fertiliser.

Organic residues and waste are collected
The BioHub would receive suitable agricultural, agri-industrial and food processing residues from farms, food processing and other agricultural industries.
Waste is processed through anaerobic digestion
The organic material is placed inside sealed tanks, called anaerobic digesters. It works a little like composting at home: naturally occurring microorganisms break down the material, but here it happens inside a tank without oxygen so the gas produced can be captured.
Biogas is produced
Anaerobic digestion produces biogas, made up mostly of methane and carbon dioxide.
The biogas is upgraded to biomethane
The biogas is treated and upgraded so that the biomethane meets the required Australian gas quality and safety standards.
Renewable gas sent around the state
The biomethane will be injected into Tasmania's existing natural gas network and supplied using existing gas infrastructure. It can then be used by existing industrial and commercial gas users to replace some of the natural gas they currently use.
Organic fertiliser goes back to farming
The digestion process also produces digestate, which is the leftover solid material. It is nutrient-rich and can be processed into an organic fertiliser product for agricultural use, sending the nutrients back to farms for cropping and grazing.

Why Westbury?

Westbury is in the heart of Tasmania's major agricultural and food-production regions and its proximity to existing industrial and energy infrastructuremakes it the ideal location for the BioHub.

The Birralee Road industrial precinct provides access to potential agricultural, agri-industrial and food processing feedstocks (the organic waste) from across Northern Tasmania and allows renewable biomethane produced at the BioHub to connect directly into Tasmania's existing gas network.

The project would also represent significant new investment in Northern Tasmania and support economic activity associated with construction, operation, agricultural supply chains and resource recovery.

Project Benefits

The Westbury BioHub will deliver benefits across waste and resource recovery, renewable energy, agriculture and regional investment. By turning agricultural, agri-industrial food processing organics waste into biomethane and organic fertiliser, the project would make productive use of organic waste, provide a lower-emissions gas option for industry, recover nutrients for agricultural use and support new investment and economic activity in Northern Tasmania.

Waste and resource recovery
The BioHub would create productive uses for agricultural and agri-industrial residues and food processing waste by converting organic material into renewable energy (biomethane) and agricultural products (organic fertiliser).
Renewable gas
The project would produce biomethane, a renewable gas that can be supplied through existing natural gas infrastructure.
Industrial decarbonisation
Biomethane can provide a lower-emissions gas option for industrial users, including businesses that use gas for processes where electrification may be difficult, costly, or not possible.
Agricultural benefits
The project would create an organic fertiliser product from material remaining after anaerobic digestion, recovering nutrients for productive agricultural use, and help replace some current fossil-fuel based fertiliser use.
Regional investment
The Westbury BioHub represents a proposed investment of approximately $50 million in Northern Tasmania and is expected to support employment and economic activity during construction and operation. The project is projected to create around 50 construction jobs and about 5 ongoing operational roles, with broader supply chain activity generating an estimated 125-150 jobs across the region through indirect employment in transport, engineering, maintenance, and local services.

Project Status and Next Steps

The Westbury BioHub remains in development.

Government funding support is an important milestone for the project but is not environmental or planning approval or a Final Investment Decision.

We still have more work to do on the project through engineering and design, environmental and planning assessment, commercial arrangements and community and stakeholder engagement and consultation.

As the project develops, further information will be made available on this webpage and we will engage and consult with the community and stakeholders, as well as work through the different approval processes.

Construction will only proceed after community consultation, project approvals and final investment decisions.

Government Support

The Tasmanian Government has announced conditional investment of up to $12.5 million for the Westbury BioHub through the Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Board.

The investment helps progress the project and includes performance-based conditions, including the verified processing of up to 36,000 tonnes of eligible organic material a year once the project is commissioned.

This investment is separate from the project's capital funding and will not be paid as an upfront construction grant.

The Westbury BioHub investment formed part of the Tasmanian Government's July 2025 election commitments.