Gosnells Landfill Gas Abatement Facility

Gosnells Landfill Gas Abatement Facility is a landfill gas abatement waste project located at the Kelvin Road landfill site in Orange Grove, approximately 20km southeast of the Perth Central Business District in Western Australia. It was registered in August 2013 and covers an unknown area. The surrounding Orange Grove and Gosnells area is characterised by a mix of semi-rural acreage lifestyle blocks, residential suburbs, and industrial infrastructure. The region experiences a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and moderate winter rainfall, and the local soils, situated on the transitional zone near the foothills of the Darling Scarp, typically consist of sandy loams, gravel, and clay laterite.

Landfill gas abatement projects under the ACCU scheme involve capturing the methane-rich biogas generated by the decomposition of legacy and non-legacy organic waste in landfills. This captured gas is then combusted either via flaring or used to run engines that generate renewable electricity. These activities prevent methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, from being released into the atmosphere, converting it to less potent carbon dioxide.

Interestingly, the site has a long history of bioenergy generation, with a landfill gas power plant officially opened at the Gosnells site as early as September 2004 by the Western Australian Government. As an established carbon project, it has undergone several transitions over its life. It originally participated under a revoked Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) method before successfully migrating to the newer 2015 Landfill Gas methodology. The project also saw changes in its proponents, initially involving AGL Energy Services and the Sustainable Energy Infrastructure Trust before ownership was transferred to LMS Energy Pty Ltd in 2022. LMS Energy is one of Australia’s largest methane abatement and bioenergy companies, partnering with local councils and operating over 60 biogas facilities nationwide. Furthermore, the Gosnells facility was contracted under the Emissions Reduction Fund in April 2015, and its specific delivery contract (CAC197358) has since been successfully completed.