Caloundra Landfill Gas Project

Caloundra Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas energy project located at the Caloundra Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, situated just west of the main Caloundra township. It was registered in December 2013 and covers the operational footprint of the local municipal waste facility.

Electricity generation from landfill gas projects involve capturing methane emissions that are naturally produced during the decomposition of organic waste in a landfill. Under this methodology, the captured methane, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas, is combusted in a gas engine or generator to produce electricity. This process physically removes methane that would otherwise enter the atmosphere, converting it into a reliable renewable energy source for the power grid.

The Caloundra region is a major coastal urban centre where local land use is heavily dominated by residential, commercial, and tourism-based developments, with some historical forestry and agricultural uses in the surrounding Sunshine Coast hinterland. The local environment features a sub-tropical, high-rainfall climate, typically receiving over 1,500mm of average annual rainfall. The regional soils generally consist of coastal sands, sandy loams, and pockets of acid sulfate soils near local estuaries and coastal passages.

An interesting note about this specific operation is that it transitioned from a revoked early Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) method, and it continues to operate by capturing and combusting gas generated from both legacy and non-legacy waste. The project is operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd, a prominent Australian bioenergy company. After being initially contracted by the Australian Government in April 2017, the project successfully completed its Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC668305) with the Clean Energy Regulator in June 2022, having delivered a substantial volume of its committed carbon abatement.