Cessnock Landfill Gas Project

The Cessnock Landfill Gas Project is a waste emissions avoidance initiative located at the Cessnock Waste Management Centre on Old Maitland Road, approximately 4km northeast of the Cessnock town centre in New South Wales. Registered in December 2013, the project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. The project area itself is situated within a region heavily associated with the Hunter Valley's coal mining and viticulture industries.

The project involves the installation and operation of a gas collection system designed to extract methane from the landfill's decomposing waste. By capturing this gas and combusting it, either through flaring or electricity generation, the project prevents potent methane from entering the atmosphere, converting it instead into less harmful carbon dioxide. As a transitioning project, it manages gas generated from both legacy waste (deposited before the scheme's commencement) and non-legacy waste streams.

Environmentally, the Cessnock region experiences a warm temperate climate with moderate annual rainfall. The specific site of the Waste Management Centre is described as a degraded former mining and quarrying location, typical of the industrial land use in this part of the Hunter Valley. The surrounding regional soils are generally characterized by yellow podzolic soils and clays.

The project is operated by LMS Energy, Australia's largest bioenergy and methane abatement company, in partnership with the Cessnock City Council. Notably, the project has successfully fulfilled a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC164941) with the Australian Government, delivering its contracted volume of carbon credits by October 2021. In 2023, a subsequent "Upgrade" project (ERF184945) was registered at the same site, indicating a continued commitment to improving gas capture efficiency as the landfill expands.