Blackwood Piggery Biogas Digester (Revoked)

Blackwood Piggery Biogas Digester (Revoked) is a methane destruction project located approximately 5km south of the township of Yarragon in the West Gippsland region of Victoria. Registered in June 2017, the project was situated on the Bayley family's "Blackwood Piggery," a property with a long agricultural history dating back to 1901. The surrounding region of Baw Baw Shire is characterized by high rainfall and fertile clay-loam soils, predominantly supporting dairy farming, grazing, and intensive horticulture.

The project operated under the Destruction of Methane Generated from Manure in Piggeries methodology. This method involves the installation of covered anaerobic lagoons to capture biogas, specifically methane, released during the decomposition of pig manure. Instead of allowing this potent greenhouse gas to vent into the atmosphere, the captured gas is combusted, converting the methane into carbon dioxide (which has a lower global warming potential) and often generating renewable energy to power on-site operations.

Although the carbon project was voluntarily revoked in September 2020 under Section 30 of the CFI Rule, the bio-energy infrastructure itself appears to be a significant success for the operation. Proponent Rob Bayley was named "Young Agribusiness Leader of the Year" around the time of the project's revocation, largely cited for his leadership in introducing this bio-energy system to the 550-sow farm. Industry reports from the Gippsland Circular Economy initiative have subsequently listed the Blackwood Piggery biogas system as "operational," suggesting the revocation was likely an administrative decision regarding the carbon credits rather than a failure of the technology.