Victoria’s timber towns are sitting on something Qantas, Airbus and other aviation partners all want — and a recent $10 million investment builds confidence that the Green Triangle can supply it. The “Fibre to Fuels” project, run through the AFWI Centre for Sustainable Futures, has more than a dozen industry partners and aims to convert forest residues in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia into jet fuel.
Operating out of HAMR Energy’s Portland Renewable Fuels facility — backed by the Australian Government’s $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program — the company is looking to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of low-carbon methanol produced from the Green Triangle alone. Whilst a second plant, Australia’s first methanol-to-jet facility, will go further: 135 million litres of SAF per year from an $800 million plant announced earlier this week.
Forestry residues are not waste.
Speaking about the recent announcements, Timber Towns Victoria President Cr Karen Stephens said the projects demonstrate the value of forest products (including residues) to the local economy: “Forestry residues are not waste — they are a valuable resource that can be turned into low-carbon fuels for use in aviation and shipping, creating jobs and new income streams for regional Victoria.”
Meanwhile, OneFortyOne’s Director of Corporate Strategy, Nick Chan, recently called the project “a defining moment for plantation forestry in Australia,” pointing to the Green Triangle’s year-round operations, established logistics, and sheer scale as the natural feedstock advantage.
Australia has almost no domestic SAF production.
That gap is the opportunity. And with federal funding already flowing and aviation partners already committed, the Green Triangle doesn’t need to wait for someone else to build the market — it just needs Victoria to recognise what’s already here.
“Our communities have always understood the value of the plantation estate,” Stephens said. “This investment is proof that the forestry sector has a strong and diversified future – and we call on the Victorian Government to recognise the strategic importance of the Green Triangle and ensure regional communities capture the full economic benefit of Australia’s emerging renewable fuels sector.”
- To learn more about the ‘Fibre to Fuels’ project, click here for Wood Central’s special feature last month. And to learn more about the opportunities for Victoria’s timber towns, click here for Timber Towns Victoria’s media statement.
