Rivalea Corowa Module 5 Piggery Biogas Project

Rivalea Corowa Module 5 Piggery Biogas Project is an Animal Effluent Management project located approximately 10km northwest of the town of Corowa in the Riverina region of New South Wales. Registered in January 2013, the project operates within the boundary of Rivalea's extensive piggery operations. The facility was acquired by JBS Australia in early 2022 as part of their purchase of Rivalea Holdings.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Animal Effluent Management) Methodology Determination 2019. This methodology awards carbon credits for capturing and destroying methane emissions generated by the decomposition of animal effluent. In standard piggeries, manure is often stored in open anaerobic lagoons where it releases significant methane into the atmosphere. This project utilizes covered anaerobic lagoons to trap this gas. The captured methane is then combusted to generate renewable energy and heat, converting a potent greenhouse gas into less harmful carbon dioxide while displacing fossil fuel electricity.

Corowa is situated in a productive agricultural region defined by mixed cropping and grazing. The area typically receives moderate annual rainfall of approximately 540mm, supporting dryland farming and irrigated agriculture along the Murray River. The local soils are predominantly Red Chromosols (red-brown earths) and clays, which are characteristic of the Riverina's productive plains.

The specific infrastructure for Module 5 includes a 50ML covered anaerobic lagoon and a custom-built 2G Avus 500plus Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit. This system generates approximately 500kW of electricity, enough to supply roughly 25% of the site's power requirements, and offsets an estimated 28,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. The project successfully completed a carbon abatement contract with the Australian Government in 2022.