Reedy Creek Landfill Gas Project

Reedy Creek Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas electricity generation project located at the Reedy Creek Landfill, approximately 5km inland from Burleigh Heads on Queensland's Gold Coast. It was registered in June 2015. The specific project area is not publicly designated, which is typical for facility-based waste management projects. The regional land use is heavily dominated by urban development, commercial zones, and municipal infrastructure.

Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas projects involve capturing methane-rich biogas emitted by decomposing organic waste within a landfill. Instead of venting the gas or passively flaring it, the captured methane is combusted in an engine to generate electricity. This methodology requires the proponent to capture and destroy methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, derived from both legacy and non-legacy waste, generating carbon credits while actively displacing fossil-fuelled electricity on the grid.

The Gold Coast environment features a subtropical climate characterized by high annual rainfall averaging near 1,000mm. Soils in the coastal and sub-coastal areas of southern Queensland are generally Kurosols (acidic, texture-contrast soils) and coastal sands, though the immediate project footprint has been fundamentally modified by deep earthworks, clay liner systems, and structured waste cells to function as a municipal landfill.

An interesting operational note is that the project underwent a methodology variation in February 2022, upgrading from a standard landfill gas flaring method to the 2021 electricity generation determination. The project proponent, LMS Energy Pty Ltd, operates the site in partnership with the City of Gold Coast. LMS Energy shares the proceeds from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) with the local council, providing an ongoing financial return to the city. Furthermore, the project successfully completed its Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC873169) with the Australian Government in June 2022, an agreement that was delivered jointly alongside two other local Gold Coast landfill gas projects at Molendinar and Stapylton.