Capture and Combustion of Landfill Gas from Willawong Landfill Project

Capture and Combustion of Landfill Gas from Willawong Landfill Project is an electricity generation from landfill gas project located in Willawong, an industrial and commercial suburb approximately 17km south of the Brisbane CBD in Queensland. It was registered in March 2013 and the project area size is unknown.

Electricity generation from landfill gas projects involve capturing methane-rich biogas generated by decomposing organic waste in a landfill. This captured gas is then combusted, often using generators, to produce renewable electricity, which significantly reduces the global warming potential of the emitted greenhouse gases while supplying dispatchable power to the grid.

The Willawong and broader Brisbane area experiences a subtropical climate with high rainfall, averaging over 1,000mm annually. The local landscape sits within a major urban and industrial footprint, and soils in the surrounding coastal and sub-coastal region are generally clay and loam types, such as Dermosols.

This project operates at a closed landfill site and utilizes a 600kW generator to combust gas from legacy and non-legacy waste. It was initially registered under the Brisbane City Council before the project participant was varied to Landfill Gas Industries Pty Ltd (now LGI Limited) in late 2011. Throughout its lifespan, the project has successfully transitioned through several carbon methodology variations and completed an emissions reduction contract in early 2022. Interestingly, Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by this specific project have been purchased and surrendered by the University of Queensland to voluntarily offset the emissions of events at the UQ Art Museum.