Drysdale Landfill Gas Project

The Drysdale Landfill Gas Project is a waste management and energy generation project located at the Drysdale Resource Recovery Centre on the Bellarine Peninsula, approximately 20km east of Geelong in Victoria. Registered in February 2013, the project is operated by LMS Energy in partnership with the City of Greater Geelong. The surrounding Bellarine region is characterised by a mix of rural-residential development and agricultural land use, including grazing, cropping, and viticulture, set within a temperate climate zone.

This project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2021. The methodology awards carbon credits for the capture and combustion of methane, a potent greenhouse gas released by decomposing organic waste, which is then used to fuel a generator for electricity production. By converting methane into carbon dioxide and generating renewable energy, the project reduces the facility's net greenhouse gas emissions.

The site is situated in an area of moderate rainfall, typically receiving between 500mm and 700mm annually, with soils consisting largely of clays and sandy loams common to the peninsula's geology. The project has undergone several methodology transitions, evolving from early "legacy waste" determinations to the current 2021 standard. Notably, the onsite renewable energy facility, commissioned in late 2018, generates enough electricity to power approximately 1,200 to 1,500 homes and abates roughly 35,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent emissions per year. The project also successfully completed a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC164941) with the Australian Government in October 2021.