Hawkesbury Landfill Gas Project

The Hawkesbury Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas capture and combustion project located at the Hawkesbury City Waste Management Facility in South Windsor, approximately 55km northwest of the Sydney CBD in New South Wales. Registered in August 2015, the project is operated by LGI Limited (formerly Landfill Gas Industries) under a long-term contract with the Hawkesbury City Council. The facility serves the local government area and accepts domestic and commercial waste, which generates methane as it decomposes.

The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015 allows project proponents to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by installing systems that collect landfill gas and combust it. This process converts methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon dioxide, which has a significantly lower global warming potential. The Hawkesbury project involves a bespoke biogas management system that captures this gas and destroys it using an ERF-compliant flare. While LGI Limited operates power generation assets at other sites, the Hawkesbury facility is primarily described as a flaring project designed to abate carbon emissions above the regulatory baseline.

The South Windsor region is part of the Cumberland Plain and is characterized by a mix of peri-urban land uses, including waste management, turf farming, market gardening, and light grazing. The area typically experiences moderate rainfall and features soils ranging from alluvial sandy loams near the Hawkesbury River to heavier clays and shales typical of the broader Cumberland Plain. LGI Limited renewed its contract with the Council in 2022 to continue managing the site's biogas, citing the project's ability to reduce emissions equivalent to removing nearly 6,000 cars from the road annually.