How Shelby structures evidence and screening models.
Project screening is useful when assumptions are explicit and results can be reproduced. Keep resource, output, customer terms and financial scope aligned, with uncertainty visible. Shelby consultation response, Biomethane production costs and cost drivers (company position) (Internal research locator: public evidence not yet verified) Use site-specific transport distances, utility requirements and customer delivery boundaries so alternative configurations can be compared on consistent terms.
Classify observations
Separate measured results, published design values, forecasts, provider claims and illustrative assumptions. Missing data is unknown, not zero.
Use consistent calculation boundaries
State HHV/LHV, gas conditions, currency year and real/nominal treatment. Avoid duplicate cost deductions and counting an attribute or product twice. Report which outputs a comparison actually delivers.
Measured, modelled or proposed
Every figure in this cluster is treated as one of three types: measured operating data, modelled estimates based on stated assumptions, or proposals and scenarios. Keeping these categories distinct prevents a design target or policy scenario being read as delivered performance. Where evidence is missing, pages say so rather than filling the gap.
Reproduce a screening result
A reproducible result identifies the source date, input value, unit, conversion, boundary and any assumption introduced by the user. Preserve unknowns rather than silently inserting defaults. Show intermediate quantities where one output feeds another calculation, and keep measured, quoted and illustrative values visibly distinct. Re-run the assessment when resource, customer, policy or delivery evidence changes.
Current assessment release: screening-0.2.0
The four existing tools share a private browser-session project boundary and produce an immutable downloadable input/output record. Feedstock screening supports wet-tonne realised yield, realised yield per kg VS fed and laboratory BMP with one declared realisation factor. F02, F05 and F07 calculate annual methane, reference-state raw gas and non-overlapping pathway allocations. H01 and H03 provide a biomethane steam-reforming/full-shift reaction check only. This release is not a process simulator or independently validated feasibility engine.
Reference states and reproducible calculations
Each physical screen declares dry-gas reference temperature, absolute pressure, compressibility, LHV or HHV and yield evidence. Wet-gas conversion is unsupported. Reference m³ is not an interchangeable label for Nm³ or standard m³. Realised methane yield is never reduced again by a generic BMP factor. Allocations above 100% stop the calculation; raw-biogas CO₂ is not assumed to be all non-methane gas. Run records retain formula version, user inputs, project boundaries and raw outputs; unknown input provenance remains unverified.
What the financial screen does - and does not - calculate
The project economics tool distinguishes annual capacity from measured annual delivered output, preventing a second availability deduction. Support remains separate: no support, user-declared awarded support, or hypothetical support. E03 provides constant annual pre-tax unlevered NPV. E04 provides gross scoped investment/OPEX cost per delivered GJ and an explicitly other-product-adjusted view. Gas sales are not subtracted from the gas cost being solved. This simplified model excludes tax depreciation, debt, working capital, commissioning ramp, replacements and closure; it does not produce full lifecycle cost, IRR, DSCR or a tax-inclusive minimum selling price.
Supported chemistry is not qualified customer supply
BioH₂ screening uses CH₄ + 2H₂O → CO₂ + 4H₂, with user-declared methane conversion and hydrogen separation recovery. One kmol methane reacted gives 8.064 kg gross H₂ and 44.01 kg process CO₂ in the ideal full-shift calculation. These are synthetic stoichiometric checks, not supplier performance. Imported heat, process fuel, steam, impurities, compression, outages and delivery require their own evidence before any saleability or delivered-cost claim. ISO 14687:2025 is a quality-reference lead; the full licensed requirements and customer acceptance must be obtained before compliance rules are implemented.
Independent validation and the next release gates
Software fixtures establish arithmetic consistency, not operating accuracy. The supplied research blueprint recommends monthly feedstock/storage/demand modelling, whole-plant mass and nutrient closure, digestate destinations, full cash/tax/debt and matched emissions baselines before a complete feasibility release. Supplier operating envelopes, consenting operating-site time series and independent engineering/financial review are required. Regional hub/module optimisation follows single-site validation; gasification, pyrolysis, landfill decline and liquid biofuels need separate process models. No emissions credit, financing approval or ARENA eligibility is inferred from conventional formulas.
Method references and evidence status
The supplied Shelby Assessment Engine Research and Formula Blueprint (11 October 2026, research specification v0.1) proposes the model contract and synthetic fixtures. Primary reference leads below support method scope only: EPA AgSTAR for AD development; DOE reforming for chemistry; DOE H2A for discounted-cash-flow methods. Their foreign coefficients are not Australian defaults. Standards, workbook replication and supplier/site inputs require further review. Publication dates and claim-level verification are retained as unknown where not established; no independent validation of this release is claimed.
Records, sites, installations, capacity, output and available supply
The Australian explorer separates six things that are often blurred together.
| Term | What it means | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence record | One row from one source, such as an accreditation, carbon project, operator listing or map observation | A unique plant; several records can describe the same site |
| Site | A reviewed physical location with a stable identity | Confirmed operation |
| Installation | A process at a site, such as host digestion, upgrading, CO₂ recovery or hydrogen conversion | Separate gas; linked installations share the same host gas and are never added together |
| Capacity | Nameplate or design size with its unit and basis (electrical MW, thermal MW or gas energy) | Annual output; no hidden capacity factor is applied |
| Output | Measured production for a stated reporting period | Cumulative totals or forecasts, which are labelled separately |
| Available supply | Volume left after production, self-use and existing commitments are established | Anything inferred from capacity; it remains unknown until evidenced |
Accreditation status and carbon registration are not lifecycle status: unsuspended does not mean operating, suspended does not necessarily mean closed, and registration is not commissioning. Unknown values are shown as unknown, never as zero. Coordinates are mapped only where a source supports them, with their accuracy shown; other records stay in the list as 'Location not yet confirmed'.
Frequently asked questions
Is a modelled cost the same as a supplier quotation?
No. Both can inform assessment, but each needs its own scope, date and exclusions.
How are measured, modelled and proposed figures labelled?
Every figure is classified by evidence type. Measured values come from operating records, modelled values from stated calculations, and proposed values from plans or policy. They are never mixed in one total without a label.
Can I reproduce a screening result?
Yes. Each result records the engine version, formula codes and inputs, and can be exported as a run record so the same calculation can be repeated.
Sources & References
- International Energy Agency (IEA), Outlook for Biogas and Biomethane
Publication: 2025-05-28
Observation period: 2025 report; modelled costs are not Australian supplier quotations
Relevant page / section: Key findings
Last link / title verification: Not verified (check attempted 2026-10-11)
Verification incomplete, do not rely on this reference for an investment or approval decision.
Check scope and current applicability before relying on this reference.
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Initial Project Checklist
Publication: 2020-06-23
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.
- Shelby Bioenergy, Shelby’s National Renewable Gas Policy consultation response
Publication: 2026-10
Observation period: October 2026
Relevant page / section: Supplied company position
Last link / title verification: Not verified
Company position / supplied material, not independent evidence.
Proposals and scenarios, not adopted policy or market offers.
- US Environmental Protection Agency, AgSTAR Project Development Handbook
Publication: 2014-12-22
Observation period: Development guidance; use edition dates of linked chapters
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.
High for structured development guidance; US-specific regulations require adaptation
- energy.gov, US Department of Energy, Hydrogen production: natural gas reforming
Publication: Date not verified
Observation period: Not recorded
Relevant page / section: Claim-level locator not yet verified
Last link / title verification: Not verified
Verification incomplete, do not rely on this reference for an investment or approval decision.
Source metadata and claim-level evidence require verification.
- hydrogen.energy.gov, US Department of Energy, H2A hydrogen production analysis
Publication: Date not verified
Observation period: Not recorded
Relevant page / section: Claim-level locator not yet verified
Last link / title verification: Not verified
Verification incomplete, do not rely on this reference for an investment or approval decision.
Source metadata and claim-level evidence require verification.