NAWMA Landfill Gas Project

NAWMA Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas project located at the Uleybury Landfill, approximately 35 kilometers north of Adelaide in South Australia. The project was registered in December 2013 and operates on a site managed by the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA), situated between the outer suburbs of Elizabeth and the rural locality of One Tree Hill. The surrounding region is characterized by a mix of semi-rural residential areas, grazing land, and viticulture, typical of the interface between the Northern Adelaide Plains and the Mount Lofty Ranges.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology rewards project proponents for capturing methane, a potent greenhouse gas generated by the decomposition of organic waste in landfills, and combusting it to generate electricity. By converting the methane into carbon dioxide and energy, the project prevents harmful gas from entering the atmosphere while supplying renewable power to the grid.

Environmentally, the Uleybury region experiences a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The landfill itself is situated in a former quartzite quarry, suggesting the local geology consists of hard rock and skeletal soils, while the broader plains typically feature clay-loam soils. As a waste management site, the immediate terrain is highly modified "disturbed ground" engineered with liners and capping to manage leachate and gas migration.

A unique feature of this facility is its status as Australia’s first combined solar and landfill gas renewable energy park. In partnership with the proponent, LMS Energy, a solar farm consisting of over 10,000 panels was integrated with the existing landfill gas infrastructure. This hybrid system allows the site to generate renewable energy around the clock, using solar during the day and landfill gas to provide baseload power, pumping approximately 11,000 megawatt-hours of electricity into the local grid annually.