Hobart McRobies Gully Landfill Gas Abatement Facility

Hobart McRobies Gully Landfill Gas Abatement Facility is a landfill gas project located at the McRobies Gully Waste Management Centre in South Hobart, approximately 4km west of the Hobart CBD. The project was registered in August 2013 and is operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd. It is situated within a valley in the foothills of Mount Wellington (kunanyi), an area characterized by waste management operations bordered by residential zones and protected bushland.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology involves the installation and operation of a gas collection system that captures methane generated by decomposing waste (both legacy and non-legacy). The captured gas is combusted in a generator to produce electricity, converting the potent methane into less harmful carbon dioxide and displacing fossil-fuel-based power from the grid. The facility reportedly has a generation capacity of 1 MW, producing approximately 7,800 MWh of electricity annually, enough to power around 1,100 homes.

Environmentally, the South Hobart region experiences a cool temperate climate with relatively high rainfall due to its proximity to the mountain, often exceeding 800mm annually. The local geology and soils are typically derived from Jurassic dolerite and Permian mudstones, resulting in clay and loam soil profiles that can be prone to waterlogging or erosion on steep slopes.

The project has a history of transitioning through various methodology iterations, having originally started under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) legacy waste method before moving to the 2015 and eventually the 2021 determinations. Notably, the City of Hobart has outlined a "Zero Waste to Landfill" strategy with a target to close the McRobies Gully landfill operations by 2030, which may influence the future volume of gas generation at the site. The project successfully completed a carbon abatement contract (CAC354956) with the Australian Government in April 2015.