Bega Valley Shire LFG Project

The Bega Valley Shire LFG Project is a landfill gas operation located at the Central Waste Facility on Wanatta Lane in Wolumla, approximately 15 kilometers south of Bega in New South Wales. Registered in February 2018, the project operates within the Bega Valley, a region renowned for its significant dairy industry, grazing pastures, and forestry operations. The area typically experiences a humid subtropical climate with significant rainfall, averaging around 900mm annually, and the landscape is dominated by decomposed granite soils, often consisting of sandy loams over clay subsoils.

The project operates under the Landfill Gas methodology, which involves the installation of a gas collection system to capture methane generated by decomposing organic waste. In this specific instance, the system captures landfill gas and combusts it via a flare. This process converts methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon dioxide, which has a much lower global warming potential. To generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the project must demonstrate that the gas capture is additional to any regulatory requirements and would not have occurred without the incentive of the carbon market.

This project is managed by LGI Limited under a long-term contract with the Bega Valley Shire Council. While LGI operates power generation at larger sites, this specific project is described as a flaring operation designed to abate carbon, improve local air quality, and manage safety risks associated with methane build-up. Notably, the Central Waste Facility played a critical role in the region's recovery from the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires, receiving approximately 140,000 cubic metres of fire-affected waste, which significantly increased the volume of material managed at the site.