Copping Landfill Gas Project

The Copping Landfill Gas Project is a waste-to-energy initiative located at the Copping Refuse Disposal Site, approximately 45 kilometers east of Hobart in Tasmania. Registered in December 2013, the project is operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd in partnership with the site owner, Southern Waste Solutions (a joint authority of several local councils). The facility manages waste for a significant portion of southern Tasmania and is situated in a rural region characterized by mixed agricultural land use, primarily consisting of grazing and forestry operations.

The project operates under the Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas methodology. This involves an engineered gas collection system that extracts methane, a potent greenhouse gas released during the decomposition of organic waste, from within the landfill. Instead of allowing this gas to escape into the atmosphere or simply flaring it, the project combusts the methane in a generator to produce renewable electricity. This process creates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by destroying the methane (converting it to less harmful carbon dioxide) and by displacing electricity that would otherwise be generated by fossil-fuel-heavy grid sources.

Environmentally, the Copping region experiences a cool temperate climate typical of South-East Tasmania. Rainfall in this area is moderate, generally falling between 500mm and 700mm annually, which is significantly drier than the state's western districts. The local soil profile is complex but often features texture-contrast soils such as Kurosols or Chromosols (loam/sand over clay) and deposits of clay, which are geologically suitable for landfill containment and support the surrounding pasture land.

A notable aspect of this project is its long operational history, having transitioned from the original Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) legacy waste methods to the modern 2021 methodology. The site itself is unique in Tasmania as it houses the state's only "Category C" cell authorized to accept low-level hazardous waste. The project has successfully delivered on its carbon abatement contract (CAC164941) with the Australian Government, marking it as a mature and fully operational contributor to the state's renewable energy mix.