Tong Park Piggery Bioenergy Project

Tong Park Piggery Bioenergy Project is an agricultural methane destruction project. Based on the provided coordinates, the location maps to approximately 25km south of Brisbane in Queensland, near the suburb of Greenbank. The general land use in this immediate area consists of rural-residential acreage, bushland, and light agriculture. The environmental conditions for this South East Queensland region feature a subtropical, high rainfall climate, with soils generally consisting of sandy loams and clays. However, it is worth noting that the actual Tong Park Piggery is famously located further west on the Darling Downs near Warra, roughly 50km west of Dalby. The Darling Downs region is characterised by intensive agriculture, cropping, and grazing operations, supported by moderate rainfall and fertile, cracking clay soils (vertosols).

Registered in August 2013, the project operates under the Destruction of Methane Generated from Manure in Piggeries-1.1 methodology. This project type involves managing piggery effluent in anaerobic conditions to capture and destroy biogas. Standard requirements for this method include installing impermeable covers over effluent lagoons, using a flare or generator to continuously combust the captured gas, and strictly monitoring biogas flow rates and methane concentrations. By combusting the methane, it is converted into carbon dioxide, a significantly less potent greenhouse gas, thereby generating carbon abatement.

An interesting fact about this project is that it underwent a methodology variation in October 2014, shifting its design from engineered biodigesters to covered lagoons. Owned by SunPork Commercial Piggeries Pty Ltd, Tong Park is a massive agricultural operation. Following an expansion around 2016, the facility grew to accommodate 13,000 sows, making it the largest piggery in Queensland and the second largest in Australia. The bioenergy project successfully completed its Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC102477) in August 2022, highlighting the site's successful long-term investment in farm biogas to reduce emissions and generate independent power.