In Short

• $20 million grant secured: Optimal Renewable Gas has been awarded $20 million under the NSW Low Carbon Product Manufacturing Grant to accelerate the $58 million Griffith Biohub — a circular economy project turning Riverina farm waste into renewable biomethane gas.
• Enough gas for 30,000 homes: In its first phase, the Biohub will process up to 100,000 tonnes of agricultural organic waste per year and produce approximately 460 terajoules of gas annually — equivalent to the consumption of more than 30,000 households — while returning residual nutrients back to farms as fertiliser.
• Construction starts late 2026: The project is on track to begin construction in late 2026 and reach commercial operations by 2028, with a second stage planned to process more than 250,000 tonnes of organic waste from across the Riverina.

A Griffith-based renewable energy project is set to become one of the most significant circular economy developments in regional New South Wales, after Optimal Renewable Gas secured a $20 million NSW Government grant to accelerate construction of the Griffith Biohub.

The Biohub is a $58 million project that uses proven anaerobic digestion technology to convert agricultural organic waste and residues from across the Riverina into biomethane, a renewable gas that is fully compatible with existing gas pipelines and appliances, requiring no modifications from end users. The grant was awarded under the NSW Low Carbon Product Manufacturing Grant program, part of the state government's broader $480 million Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative designed to help fast-track industrial emissions reductions.

"The Griffith Biohub is an exciting opportunity for us to convert Australia's abundant but relatively poorly used organic waste and residue into reliable renewable energy," Optimal Renewable Gas Managing Director Mike Davis said. "It can be delivered via existing gas infrastructure for those industries that are either costly or difficult to electrify."

Mr Davis said the Griffith project would pave the way for significant replication. "We're looking at moving from a pilot-scale project into commercial scale production," he said. "By being in the regions, we can also work with the community to add value to their organic waste, not only produce renewable energy, but get the nutrients back to those agricultural lands."

In its first phase, the Biohub will process up to 100,000 tonnes of organic waste to produce approximately 460 terajoules of gas per year, equivalent to the consumption of more than 30,000 households, while recovering and returning residual nutrients to agriculture. A second stage will look to process over 250,000 tonnes of organic waste and residues from across the wider Riverina region. Construction is planned to start in late 2026, with the project expected to be fully operational by 2028. The project is also evaluating whether the biogenic carbon dioxide produced in the process can be captured and used for industrial purposes rather than released.

ORG Chairman Dr John Hewson, the former Liberal Party leader, described the project as a model for how regional Australia can lead the way on clean energy. "This project is a perfect demonstration of a regional circular economy, reducing emissions of organic waste to provide a drop-in fuel to displace natural gas, supporting domestic and regional energy security whilst returning nutrients back to agriculture," Dr Hewson said.

Major project stakeholders and supporters include Jemena Gas Networks, Baiada Poultry and Osaka Gas Australia. Jemena, which operates gas networks across NSW and nationally, has a Memorandum of Understanding with ORG and other biomethane advocates to work together to establish a renewable gas market. The company's Malabar Biomethane Injection Plant, an Australian first, already produces and injects biomethane into the natural gas network, providing a working model for what the Griffith Biohub aims to replicate at scale in the Riverina.

NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative would help the state lead the clean energy transition and create skilled manufacturing jobs in regional areas. ORG says it has plans to have ten large-scale biohubs under development by 2030, targeting production of up to ten petajoules of biomethane per year nationally.

Griffith City Council had not made a public statement about the Biohub grant at the time of publication. Back Country Bulletin has sought comment from Mayor Doug Curran and will update this story when a response is received.