Tong Park Piggery Bioenergy Project

Tong Park Piggery Bioenergy Project is an agricultural waste emissions avoidance project. While the project's registered coordinates point to Greenbank, approximately 30km south of Brisbane in Queensland (likely a corporate or logistical address), the Tong Park Piggery facility itself is widely documented as being located near Warra in the Western Downs region, roughly 250km west of Brisbane. Registered in August 2013, the project operates under the Carbon Farming Initiative to manage emissions from Sunpork Commercial Piggeries' intensive livestock operations.

The project operates by destroying methane generated from piggery manure. Under the "Destruction of Methane Generated from Manure in Piggeries" methodology, the proponent installs covered anaerobic lagoons (CALs) to capture biogas emitted during the decomposition of effluent. Instead of releasing this potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, the methane is captured and combusted, often to generate renewable electricity and heat for the farm's operations. This turns a waste liability into an energy asset while significantly reducing the farm's carbon footprint.

The actual project site in the Western Downs region is characterized by flat, extensive agricultural plains known for cropping and grazing. The area typically experiences a subtropical climate with summer-dominant rainfall averaging around 600mm annually. The region is famous for its "black soil" plains, fertile, deep-cracking clay soils (vertosols) that support intensive agriculture, including the grain production often used to feed livestock.

Sunpork Commercial Piggeries is identified as the largest pig farming integrator in Australia. Public reports indicate that the Tong Park facility has expanded significantly over the years, aiming to become one of the largest piggeries in the country. The bioenergy component has reportedly contributed to a 50% decline in greenhouse gas emissions at the farm over a decade, with biogas plants generating significant amounts of electricity to power on-site operations. The project successfully completed a carbon abatement contract (CAC102477) with the Australian Government, delivering its committed abatement by 2022.