Ballarat Landfill Gas Project

Ballarat Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas electricity generation project located at Smythesdale, approximately 15km south-west of Ballarat in Victoria. It was registered in February 2013 and covers an unspecified area within the active Ballarat Regional Landfill.

Landfill gas projects involve installing or upgrading gas collection systems to capture methane generated by the decomposition of organic waste. The captured biogas is then safely combusted and converted into renewable electricity, preventing this potent greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.

The Smythesdale and broader Ballarat region is known for grazing, broadacre cropping, and forestry. The area experiences a temperate climate with moderate to high rainfall, averaging 500-800mm annually. Local soils are generally Chromosols and Sodosols, typically featuring sandy clay loams overlying heavy clay subsoils.

This project transitioned from a revoked Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) method and continues to capture and combust gas generated from both legacy and non-legacy waste. Operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd, the project successfully completed its initial Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC362004) with the Commonwealth in April 2022. LMS Energy holds a specific electricity generation licence for the facility, converting the captured methane into renewable baseload energy that is fed directly into the Victorian electricity grid.