Noosa Landfill Gas Project

Noosa Landfill Gas Project is a waste sector project located at the Noosa Landfill Resource Recovery Centre, approximately 12km west of Noosa Heads in Queensland. Registered in December 2013, the project operates within the Noosa Shire Council's waste facility, which serves the surrounding coastal and hinterland communities. The region is characterized by a mix of peri-urban development, rural residential properties, and native forestry.

Landfill gas projects operate by installing a system of wells and pipes into the waste mass to capture biogas generated by decomposing organic matter. This gas, primarily methane, is then combusted, either via a flare or an electricity generation engine, to convert it into carbon dioxide and water. This process prevents methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere. The Noosa Landfill Gas Project currently flares the captured gas, a critical activity given that the landfill accounts for over 60% of the Noosa Council's total carbon emissions.

The Noosa hinterland experiences a humid subtropical climate with high rainfall, typically averaging over 1,200mm annually. The soils in the surrounding Eumundi and Doonan area are generally acidic texture-contrast soils, such as Kurosols or Dermosols, often presenting as loams over clay subsoils.

The project is operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd, Australia's most experienced landfill gas proponent. It was originally registered under a legacy Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) method before transitioning to the 2015 methodology. Notably, the project held a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC668305) with the Australian Government, which was successfully completed in June 2022. While nearby facilities like Caloundra have implemented waste-to-energy generation, the Noosa site has been identified in council strategies for potential future upgrades to electricity generation to further support the shire's net-zero targets.