East Rockingham Waste to Energy (ERWtE) in Western Australia has marked a key commissioning milestone, with the plant successfully achieving first fire on waste last month as part of its transition to full operations. The milestone follows extensive commissioning activities and signals the start of processing municipal waste to generate energy. The facility is designed to divert waste from landfill while producing electricity for the local grid, contributing to sustainable waste management in the region. “Achieving first fire on waste and receiving waste from partner councils are significant steps as we continue the commissioning process and progress towards full operations,” Mr Turner said. “The facility is designed to divert residual waste from landfill while generating enough electricity to power more than 36,000 homes when fully operational.” Commissioning activities will continue over the coming months, with the facility expected to enter commercial operation in early 2027. When fully operational, the facility will process 300,000 tonnes per year of residual waste from non-recyclable materials in the Perth metropolitan area to deliver 29MW of baseload electricity capacity, enough to power more than 36,000 homes. ERWtE is only the second of two facilities to achieve this milestone in Australia, following the official opening of Kwinana Energy Recovery in late 2025.