Wagga beef processor Teys Australia unveiled a $42 million plan to reduce its "skyrocketing" energy costs and protect 900 jobs on Tuesday.
Teys industry and corporate affairs manager John Langbridge said the company aimed to source all its energy from a 'low energy emissions hub'.
The plan comes after Teys suffered a 25 per cent increase in energy bills last financial year, adding $2 million in costs to the plant that processes about 12,000 animals a day.
"The concept is to reduce or totally remove our reliance on the power grid and the gas market as well," Mr Langbridge said.
"That's effectively producing our own gas and our own power."
Teys also plans to offer a new income opportunity for farmers by taking in their waste products to fuel the energy hub.
The Bomen plant is already generating 10 per cent of its energy onsite by collecting gas from its waste products and installing a 300 kilowatt solar array.
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Teys plans to use bio-generation, solid waste digestion, solar, energy storage and biomass boilers to provide electrical and thermal energy for the plant while reducing its emissions.
Teys resource efficiency group manager Carl Duncan said under the company's plan, farmers would be able to sell their biomass waste to the hub for energy generation.
"We can use that agricultural waste in the bioenergy plant to produce heat," he said.
"We are working through the details as we build the plant up and some of the details (on how much waste farmers can sell) will be released in coming time.
"We expect that to provide some supplementary income for farmers, which is always welcome as we go through the kind of drought cycles that we have been through recently."
Mr Langbridge said adding technologies such as battery storage to its existing wastewater treatment and biogas capability would allow energy to continue flowing at night or on overcast days.
"One of the things we are looking at is future proofing the plant," he said.
"We have plans to expand the facility when livestock become more available, not just in numbers but in value adding."
Teys chief supply officer Tom Maguire said Australia's meat processing costs were up to three times that of international competitors.
"The hub will give us a competitive edge for a business that contributes $512 million to the regional economy and supports 400 direct and indirect jobs," he said.
"Given the environmental and economic benefit, Teys will fund half the hub's cost and will apply to the government for the other half."
Mr Langbridge said the company would consider funding for the hub from the federal government's new $3.5 billion Climate Solutions Fund.
"It will be a huge help," he said.
"We did not know that announcement was coming so it will be very opportune for us.
"We will obviously seeking advice on the best way of achieving some funding out of that."
Riverina MP Michael McCormack welcomed Teys' plan.
"Teys Australia is one of the largest employers in the region an I am delighted it is looking forward to the future in a way which will lower its energy costs by using sustainable biomass and solar energy systems," he said.
"The proposal represents potentially one of the largest private sector investments in Wagga's history."
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