Gerard Coutts & Associates joins the Victorian Bioenergy Network.
- Gerard Coutts & Associates
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Gerard Coutts & Associates (GCA) is proud to have recently become a member of the Victorian Bioenergy Network (VBN).
Amid rising global energy and fuel uncertainty, a fresh emphasis has been placed on where to find alternative energy and fuel sources in Australia. With a renewed drive to invest locally in renewable energy, the value of strong project planning, management, and delivery has never been more important.
What have we delivered?
Establishing AUS-BIOGAS | Australia
In 2024, Gerard Coutts & Associates(GCA) partnered with Caphenia GmBH, a clean-energy provider based in Germany that converts biogas into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for aeroplanes, ships and vehicles.
GCA facilitated consultations with key experts, suppliers and distributors to establish AUS-BIOGAS – a Project Steering Committee with directors from GCA, US-based Aviation Resource Group International (ARGI), and 888 Waste.
GCA has established relationships with other European clean-tech leaders, such as:
Hochreiter GmBH (bioGas technology).
LIPP GmBH (biogas technology, presence in Asia).
Toorgreen Nl (modular systems for crop residue into biomass).
The purpose of AUS-BIOGAS is to identify suitable locations for biogas facilities and SAF assets within a 100-kilometre radius of feedstock producers (e.g. poultry, cattle manure, green food scraps, cuttings). Gas infrastructure can easily piggy-back onto existing waste and recycling plants.
888Waste specializes in managing feedstock supply and securing long-term contracts with suppliers. ARGI brings a strong knowledge base for the aviation and off-take market, and the potential to expand into North America. GCA specializes in land asset identification, land-use planning, and infrastructure design, planning applications and approvals, and engagement with government and agencies.
GCA successfully identified 15 sites, ranging from 7 to 70-hectares, across metro and regional Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, and South Australia. GCA has cultivated long-term and trusted relationships with the property owners, who range from private landowners, First Nations co-operatives, and large-scale development companies, who have secured agreements with AUS-BIOGAS.
The identified sites also qualify for the establishment of other renewable energy infrastructures, such as solar and agri-voltaic projects.
What makes these sites ideal for the development of renewable energy infrastructure?
Property owners of under-utilized land face various challenges that GCA has vast experience solving for:
Rising costs - Increases in ‘vacant land’ taxes and interest rates put pressure on landowners to find long-term solutions that will generate income.
Zoning - Zoning restrictions can limit how land can be developed, but temporary solutions, such as portable solar arrays or agri-voltaics, can improve the success rate of approvals and generate multiple sources of income.
Location - Proximity to grid connections and terrain suitability factor heavily into the pre-feasibility analysis.
Investor compatibility - Large-scale investors ($100M+ projects), and small-scale investors (<$1M) are more readily accessible than mid-scale investors ($5M – $20M projects). Investors can often be reluctant to be involved before a site is ‘shovel ready.’
‘NIMBYism’ – Community reluctance towards the uptake of renewable energy from the commercial and public sectors. Often, people want to see someone else do it first. Experience has taught us that persistence, fostering relationships, and transparency can encourage behavioral change.
The next milestone for AUS-BIOGAS is the establishment of a network of investors and technology experts to help us drive Australia’s biogas future forward.
Avonnefields Regional Masterplan | Victoria
GCA has a long history of working with regional government (more recently, Horsham, Latrobe, Warrnambool and Bendigo City Councils) and has accumulated a vast knowledge base of regional development priorities and planning frameworks.
Avonnefields is a planned regional development in Horsham, a 3-hour drive from the CBD. David Jochinke, Property Owner and former President of the National Farmer Federation, described his “vision for the project is to deliver sustainable development and housing diversity that benefits the community and creates housing affordability.”
The masterplan prioritizes diverse and affordable housing, key-worker accommodation, sporting facilities, childcare and shared community facilities, parklands, and vegetation propagation precinct adjacent to a solar park.
The 4-hectare solar precinct is designed to generate 10-megaWatts to service the energy needs of the residential precinct, store energy and connect to the grid. It may become the largest microgrid in Australia! GCA partnered with 5B, a clean-tech energy company that specializes in scalable, deployable solar panels.
Avonnefields has been compellingly visualized through GCA’s unique 3D Visualization offering. The 50-hectare site was 3D mapped by drone in one day and processed in one week. The deployable solar panels and other infrastructure were modeled and added to the scene along with global terrain and scaling.
GCA has unlocked an innovative and responsive approach to solar and glare studies as part of the planning assessment for the solar precinct.
The native landscaping connected to the solar precinct is designed to be harvested for produce by a First Nations-led regenerative farming business. Avonnefields aims to incorporate initiatives such as these to shape a circular economy for the benefit of the immediate community.
What can we do for you?
Gerard Coutts & Associates (GCA) is uniquely positioned to support organizations within the Victorian Bioenergy Network (VBN). GCA offer a comprehensive suite of services that span the entire project lifecycle.
Project Management
With over 20 years of experience in the land-use planning and development sector, expert project management is at the core of GCA’s offering. This starts with meaningful engagement with stakeholders - landowners, developers, government bodies, and communities are consulted to establish a consolidated project plan.
GCA offers services in:
Land assembly.
Landowner consultation.
Project steering committee facilitation.
A collaborative approach builds trust, reduces project risk, and establishes mutually beneficial relationships for all parties.
Strategic advice will ensure a project is feasible, scalable, and delivered on time and budget.
GCA offers services in:
Development advice and agreements.
Project programming, structure, and administration.
Project construction management.
Staging and sequencing.
Site assessment and surveying.
Disposal vs. Development options.
Infrastructure assessments.
Heads of Agreement & MoU’s.
Market research.
Investment and funding options.
GCA covers all the necessary due diligence needed to ensure a bioenergy project is compliant with regulatory standards.
GCA offers services in:
Site identification, evaluation, and acquisition.
Development, planning, and rezoning applications.
Approvals.
Feasibility, risk, and yield analyses.
Procurement strategies.
Urban Design
The success of a renewable energy project is subject to the suitability of a site’s location, condition, context, and local demand. Renewable energy infrastructure often forms a key piece within larger planned developments.
GCA offers services in:
Master Planning.
Concept design.
Infrastructure planning, capacity and investment.
Planning processes and applications.
Architecture & Landscape Design
Bioenergy facilities have complex physical environments. Functional design and regulatory compliance are key to ensuring a project is delivered successfully and runs efficiently. Smart landscape design can reduce environmental impact, aesthetically integrate industrial assets into their surroundings, ensure efficient workflow between stages (e.g. crop areas to processing facilities to storage), and check off many other boxes in sustainability.
GCA offers services in:
Schematic design.
Specifications.
Detailed documentation.
3D renders.
Retrofitting solutions.
Sub-consultant co-ordination and contract administration.
Permits and approvals.
Drones & Visualization
Compelling visual storytelling is key when establishing the vision for a renewable energy project.
GCA offers a stand-out capability in advanced 3D design and visualisation, including:
Drone photography & mapping.
Infographic presentations.
3D modelling.
Flythroughs & walkthroughs.
Interactive environments / gameplay.
GCA has developed a unique approach to project visualization by bridging drone-captured data with photorealistic rendering platforms (commonly used in game production!). These tools are invaluable for communicating complex bioenergy projects to stakeholders to enable better understanding, create confidence around decision-making, and attract support and funding.
Let’s talk!
GCA has joined the Victorian Bioenergy Network at a crucial time when there is a growing urgency for alternative fuel and energy sources in Australia.
Through expertise in project management, urban design, architecture, landscape design, and innovative visualization, GCA offers a holistic, end-to-end project management service.
With proven outcomes, now is the time for landowners, developers, investors, and partners to collaborate with GCA and help drive the growth of Australia’s renewable energy future.
Tell us about your project!
Call our office on +61 4 383 832 37 or email us at enquiries@gerardcoutts.com.au to set up a time for an initial meeting.
