Dakabin Landfill Gas Project

Dakabin Landfill Gas Project is an electricity generation from landfill gas project located at the Dakabin Waste Management Facility, approximately 30km north of the Brisbane CBD in Queensland. It was registered in April 2014, and while the exact project area size is unknown, it operates within a peri-urban zone that has transitioned from historical semi-rural and grazing land uses to significant residential development.

Projects operating under the Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas methodology involve installing an active gas collection system to extract methane-rich biogas generated by the decomposition of organic waste in a landfill. Rather than releasing this potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, the methane is captured and combusted in dedicated gas engines to generate renewable electricity which is fed into the local grid.

The Moreton Bay region experiences a subtropical climate with high annual rainfall typically exceeding 1,000mm. These moist and warm conditions are highly beneficial as they accelerate the biological breakdown of waste, thereby increasing the rate of landfill gas production. The soil profile in the Dakabin area is generally characterised by texture-contrast soils, frequently featuring loamy topsoils overlying clay subsoils.

The project transitioned from a revoked Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) method and continues to capture and combust gas generated from legacy and non-legacy waste. Operating as a partnership between the site owner, Moreton Bay Regional Council, and LGI Limited, the site's initial 1MW generator was commissioned in 2015 and later expanded to roughly 2MW in 2018 using GE Jenbacher gas engines. The project secured a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC752641) with the Australian Government, which was fully completed by May 2022 after delivering 313,410 tonnes of carbon abatement. The Dakabin site forms part of a broader renewable energy strategy by the council, working alongside similar gas-to-energy operations at the nearby Bunya and Caboolture facilities to generate enough renewable energy to power thousands of local homes.