Wollongong CMWM Power Generation Project (Revoked)

Wollongong CMWM Power Generation Project (Revoked) was an industrial fugitives project located directly in Wollongong, approximately 80km south of Sydney in New South Wales. It was registered in April 2016, and given the nature of the facility-based infrastructure, a specific land area size is not applicable to its operations.

Coal mine waste gas projects fall under the industrial fugitives sector and involve installing and operating new devices, such as electricity generators or flares, to capture and combust the methane component of coal mine waste gas. By converting methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, into carbon dioxide while generating usable electricity, these projects substantially reduce the overall emissions intensity of active or historical coal mines.

The Wollongong and broader Illawarra region is characterised by a mix of coastal urban development, heavy steel industry, and extensive underground coal mining operations along the Illawarra escarpment. The environment experiences a high-rainfall coastal climate, and the regional soils largely consist of sandstone-derived sandy loams and clays sitting over the coal-rich geological formations of the Sydney Basin.

Interestingly, this project successfully secured an abatement contract in November 2016. However, the contract subsequently lapsed or was terminated on May 1, 2018. The project was eventually revoked entirely under section 30 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule on September 12, 2019, closing out its participation in the scheme.