Six measures for a coordinated gas industry

The official consultation question

Q04 · §2.5(b) · paper page 15

What policy mechanisms or levers do you think are necessary to enable a nationally coordinated renewable gas industry? Please outline approaches, tools, and mechanisms you consider most important and why. In your response please be as detailed as possible about how these actions would support the industry, and/or address issues you are encountering with specific projects.

Shelby’s response

Shelby recommends one coordinated framework with distinct support pathways for each gas, built around six connected measures:

Enable existing plants to expand and commercialise their output. Prioritise support for existing anaerobic digestion and biogas facilities to assess and install modular biomethane upgrading, recovered biogenic CO₂ capture and other suitable co-product systems. Building on established feedstock and operating infrastructure can help early adopters increase saleable output, diversify revenue and improve returns. Support should enable these upgrades where they add value, accounting for existing energy uses, customer demand and the full cost of processing and delivery.

Published, long-term revenue arrangements. Establish a purchasing tariff, supported offtake contract or equivalent mechanism with clear eligibility, pricing, indexation and duration. A 15-year arrangement should be the starting point for initial deployment support, tested against project economics and financing needs. For initial policy modelling, Shelby recommends testing total biomethane revenue in the range of approximately A$140-200/MWh HHV (approximately A$39-56/GJ HHV), including commodity value, renewable-gas support and certificates, with A$160-180/MWh HHV as a central range for early projects. Projects requiring support above this range should demonstrate the need through transparent project economics rather than receive a technology-blind tariff. Developers should be able to assess supported revenue before incurring substantial development costs.

Targeted capital and development assistance. Provide dedicated funding for biogas, biomethane and co-product projects, including feasibility assessments, modular upgrades, new plants and connection infrastructure. Combine capital assistance with dependable revenue arrangements to help existing operators and new developers reach investment and commissioning.

Regional mapping and coordinated infrastructure. Identify feedstock concentrations, potential buyers and delivery options. Publish connection requirements, costs and timeframes, with fair cost-sharing for infrastructure serving multiple projects. Develop hubs where aggregation improves economics, while preserving direct supply and standalone projects.

Coordinated approvals and feedstock arrangements. Establish clear approval pathways, consistent evidence requirements and early coordination between planning, environmental and network authorities. Clarify permitted feedstocks and safe digestate outlets so developers can establish supply contracts, select plant capacity and forecast compliance costs with confidence.

Usable certification and co-product markets. Clarify renewable-gas claims and their interaction with emissions reporting. Establish practical pathways for digestate and recovered biogenic CO₂ classification, quality assurance and sale. Recognise contracted co-product revenue in project economics, with environmental benefits accounted for separately to prevent double counting.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shelby’s position on six measures for a coordinated gas industry?

Shelby proposes six connected measures: existing-plant upgrades, long-term revenue, targeted capital assistance, regional infrastructure, coordinated approvals and usable certification. Proposed support ranges are policy-testing assumptions, not guaranteed tariffs or asserted Australian market prices.

What should a project team read alongside this answer?

Read the linked commercial guides and original question. Separate the response’s recommendations and illustrative assumptions from source-reported operating evidence.

Sources & References

• Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, National Renewable Gas Policy consultation

  Publication: Date not verified

  Observation period: Not recorded

  Relevant page / section: Claim-level locator not yet verified

  Last link / title verification: 2026-10-11

  Publisher link checked; individual claims, costs and regulatory applicability still require review.

  Check scope and current applicability before relying on this reference.

• Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, National Renewable Gas Policy consultation paper

  Publication: 2026-08

  Observation period: Australia; 2026 consultation

  Relevant page / section: Consultation questions; use answer-specific paper page and question reference

  Last link / title verification: 2026-10-11

  Publisher link checked; individual claims, costs and regulatory applicability still require review.

  Source for questions/context, not proof of an implemented support mechanism. Question text attribution: Commonwealth, CC BY 4.0, as noted in Shelby’s supplied consultation response.

• Creative Commons, Attribution 4.0 International

  Publication: Date not verified

  Observation period: Not recorded

  Relevant page / section: Claim-level locator not yet verified

  Last link / title verification: 2026-10-11

  Publisher link checked; individual claims, costs and regulatory applicability still require review.

  Check scope and current applicability before relying on this reference.