Drysdale Landfill Gas Project

Drysdale Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas to electricity project located at the Drysdale Resource Recovery Centre, approximately 16km east of Geelong on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. It was registered in February 2013 and covers an undisclosed area across the municipal landfill site.

Electricity generation from landfill gas projects involve the installation of a gas collection system within a landfill to capture methane produced by decomposing organic waste. Instead of allowing this potent greenhouse gas to vent into the atmosphere or simply flaring it, the captured methane is combusted in an engine system to generate renewable electricity. The standard requirements dictate that emissions must be actively reduced compared to a baseline scenario where the gas is released or flared without energy recovery.

The surrounding Bellarine Peninsula area is known for agricultural land uses such as livestock grazing, broadacre cropping, and horticulture, alongside coastal residential zones. The area experiences a temperate climate but is situated in the rain shadow of the Otway Ranges, resulting in a relatively low average annual rainfall of approximately 500-600mm. Soils in this region predominantly consist of Sodosols, which are texture-contrast soils featuring sandy loams over clay subsoils, as well as some basalt-derived clays.

This project is operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd in partnership with the City of Greater Geelong, successfully capturing methane to fuel the Drysdale Renewable Energy Facility. Since its inception, the project has evolved its activities, transitioning from legacy waste methods to updated methodology determinations, most recently adopting the 2021 Carbon Farming Initiative (Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) method. Furthermore, the project successfully fulfilled a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC164941) with the Australian Government, completing its fixed delivery obligations of 385,393 abatement units between April 2015 and October 2021.