Reedy Creek Landfill Gas Project

Reedy Creek Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas electricity generation project located at Reedy Creek, a suburb in the southern hinterland of the Gold Coast, Queensland. The site is situated approximately 15 kilometers southwest of Surfers Paradise and operates within the Reedy Creek Waste and Recycling Centre. Registered on June 4, 2015, the project focuses on the management of waste emissions within a region characterized by mixed residential development, industrial waste management, and remnant bushland reserves.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology involves the installation or upgrade of gas collection systems to capture methane generated by decomposing organic waste in landfills. Instead of allowing this potent greenhouse gas to vent into the atmosphere or simply flaring it, the captured gas is combusted in generators to produce renewable electricity. This process converts the methane into less harmful carbon dioxide while providing a productive energy source.

The environmental setting of Reedy Creek is defined by a humid subtropical climate with high annual rainfall, typical of the Gold Coast region. The local terrain is often hilly, and the soil composition in the Gold Coast hinterland is largely derived from Neranleigh-Fernvale metamorphic sediments, resulting in Red and Yellow Podzolic soils. These are typically duplex soils featuring a loamy surface horizon overlying a clay subsoil, which can be acidic and stony in the ridges where the landfill is situated.

The project is operated by LMS Energy Pty Ltd, a prominent bioenergy company in Australia. A notable aspect of this project is its administrative history; it transitioned from the 2015 Landfill Gas methodology to the updated 2021 Electricity Generation methodology in February 2022. Additionally, the project held a carbon abatement contract (CAC873169) with the Australian Government, which was successfully completed in June 2022.