Kia Ora Piggery Methane Capture and Destruction Project

Kia Ora Piggery Methane Capture and Destruction Project is an agricultural methane destruction project located at Yarrawalla, approximately 70km northwest of Bendigo in northern Victoria. It was registered on March 11, 2014, and operates across a family-run farrow-to-finish pig farm housing around 24,000 pigs, though the exact carbon project area size is unknown.

The "Destruction of Methane Generated from Manure in Piggeries" methodology involves capturing biogas from the anaerobic decomposition of pig manure and combusting its methane component. Standard requirements for these projects involve retrofitting effluent lagoons with covered anaerobic ponds (CAPs) to physically trap the gas. By combusting the methane, the project converts a highly potent greenhouse gas into less harmful carbon dioxide and water vapour, preventing it from venting into the atmosphere.

The Yarrawalla district in the Loddon Shire is considered a semi-arid, dryland agricultural zone with a relatively low average annual rainfall of approximately 375mm. The region is highly utilised for mixed farming and broadacre cropping (such as wheat, barley, and canola), and the soils typically feature Vertosols (cracking clays), Sodosols, and Calcarosols.

This project takes a highly innovative approach to on-farm energy efficiency. Instead of simply flaring the biogas, the proponent built a custom cogeneration system that scrubs the collected methane and pipes it into groups of modified Ford Falcon engines retrofitted as gas-powered generators. These engines supply the farm's electricity, while the captured exhaust heat is used for hydronic heating in the farrowing and weaning sheds. Contracted to the government in April 2015, the project officially completed its crediting period in 2021, successfully slashing the farm's greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 81% and saving over $100,000 annually in power costs.