Mindarra Bioenergy Project (Revoked)

Mindarra Bioenergy Project (Revoked) is an agricultural biogas project originally registered with coordinates placing it approximately 20km northeast of Northam in Western Australia's Wheatbelt. However, the project's namesake and intended operations point to the Mindarra Farm Piggery located in Boonanarring (Shire of Gingin), about 90km north of Perth. Registered in September 2015 by Quantum Power Limited, the exact project area is unknown. Both potential regional locations are well known for extensive agriculture. The Northam region primarily supports broadacre cropping (such as wheat and canola) and sheep grazing, while the Gingin area is a mix of grazing, pine plantations, and intensive farming.

The project was registered under the Destruction of Methane Generated from Manure in Piggeries (1.1) methodology. This project type typically involves replacing traditional open effluent ponds with covered anaerobic lagoons or digesters to capture biogas. Standard requirements mandate the installation of strict monitoring equipment to accurately measure the volume of captured biogas, which is predominantly methane. The methane is then combusted, either via a flare or an electrical generator, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and significantly reducing its global warming potential.

If located in the Wheatbelt near Northam as the registered coordinates suggest, the environment experiences a semi-arid to dry Mediterranean climate with winter-dominant rainfall, and local soils are generally a mix of red-brown earths and sandy loams. Conversely, the actual Mindarra Farm Piggery site in Gingin receives higher moderate rainfall and is characterised by sandy coastal plain soils over clay.

Interestingly, this project intended to use a 700 kW digester to convert the piggery waste into renewable electricity, which would have provided a significant bioenergy upgrade for the facility. Quantum Power Limited secured a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC102030) in the November 2015 auction to deliver 140,000 ACCUs to the Commonwealth. However, the contract lapsed or was terminated on 9 May 2017, and the project was officially revoked under Section 33 of the CFI Act on 11 May 2017. As a result, no carbon credits were ever issued for the project.