Hyland Highway Landfill Gas System Upgrade (Stage 1)

Hyland Highway Landfill Gas System Upgrade (Stage 1) is a landfill gas electricity generation project located at the Hyland Highway Landfill, approximately 12 kilometers southeast of the major regional centre of Traralgon in Victoria's Latrobe Valley. Registered in November 2017, the project is operated by the Latrobe City Council and serves as a significant waste-to-energy initiative for the region. The project area encompasses the active landfill cells where organic waste decomposition produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology credits project proponents for installing or upgrading systems that capture landfill gas and combust it to generate electricity. By converting methane into carbon dioxide and displacing fossil-fuel-based grid electricity, the project generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). The Hyland Highway upgrade involved the installation of a 900kW biogas generator (supplied by Evo Energy Technologies) and a specialized gas treatment system. This infrastructure allows the council to offset a substantial portion of its own electricity consumption while mitigating approximately 13,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually.

The Latrobe Valley region is historically known as the hub of Victoria's brown coal power generation, though it also supports forestry and grazing on the surrounding slopes. The climate is characterized by moderate to high rainfall, typical of the Gippsland region, which accelerates waste decomposition and gas production. The soils in the broader Traralgon and Loy Yang area are generally acidic texture-contrast soils (Sodosols) and clay loams, although the landfill site itself is a highly modified engineering environment.

An interesting facet of this project is its dual economic and environmental benefit; beyond generating carbon credits, the electricity produced saves the Latrobe City Council hundreds of thousands of dollars in retail energy costs annually. The system was further expanded around 2023 to increase generation capacity, demonstrating the scalability of landfill gas capture as waste volumes grow.