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The City of Ballarat would like to correct some inaccuracies in a story in The Courier titled “Malaysian company gets extended time for feasibility study”.
The last paragraph of the article states: “Rival bidders for the opportunity have expressed frustration to The Courier over being excluded from the process, with one saying they have approached the state energy minister Lily D'Ambrosio asking for an investigation into the conduct of the tenders”.
The information in this paragraph was not provided to the City of Ballarat for response.
Let us be clear. The City of Ballarat is not in a procurement process for a Waste to Energy facility, we have not sought expressions of interest, nor have we sought tenders.
In fact, the City of Ballarat has been open to discussion about waste to energy proposals, concepts and a range of technologies since 2013, with many businesses taking the opportunity to put forward these ideas.
Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad is the only company to have come forward with a firm proposal during that time period.
Council considered the initial MRCB proposal and entered into a Heads of Agreement in August 2018.
But what exactly is a Heads of Agreement? A Heads of Agreement is a non-binding document which sets out the key terms between parties. That’s it. It’s the first tentative step on the path. There has been no commitment by either Council or MRCB. Council has not commissioned MRCB to undertake any work for or on our behalf. A Heads of Agreement is not a procurement or tender process.
MRCB is undertaking a feasibility study. It is MRCB’s study, not the City of Ballarat’s.
The feasibility study has been progressed by MRCB but further due diligence work is required for Council to assess the proposal fully – hence the further extension.
This non-binding agreement still has a long way to go and we’ll keep the community informed.
It is our expectation the residents of Ballarat would expect nothing less than comprehensive due diligence work into potentially one of the biggest projects to be undertaken in the municipality.
We will be making no further commitment until all of our due diligence work is completed.
The Energy Minister has not contacted Council expressing any concern about our process to date. Council continues to work with the Victorian Government and has kept the Victorian Government fully informed of the process as it progresses.
Finally, what we do want to add is that if it proceeds a Waste to Energy Plant will: > divert 60 per cent of the city’s waste into a productive resource > provide affordable and secure access to new energy > reduce carbon emissions > avoid landfill’s environmental impacts
This energy output is not achievable through any other technology and it will also produce no adverse emissions.
This facility would provide a long-term solution for waste management in Ballarat and in the broader western region.
Ballarat and the Western Region is a leader in renewable energy production; it is rapidly advancing its position as a new energy innovation leader, and as a growth base for energy companies.