Maddingly LFG Project

Maddingly LFG Project is a landfill gas capture operation located at the Maddingley Brown Coal (MBC) site, approximately 2km south of the township of Bacchus Marsh in Victoria. Registered in June 2018, the project operates within a large industrial and waste management precinct that was originally established as an open-cut brown coal mine in the 1940s. The site now functions as a major landfill for Greater Melbourne, accepting solid inert, commercial, and industrial waste.

The project operates under the Landfill Gas methodology, which incentivizes the installation of gas collection systems to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. As organic waste decomposes in a landfill, it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This project installs wells and piping to vacuum this gas out of the waste mass. The captured gas is then combusted (flared) or used to generate electricity, converting the methane into carbon dioxide, which has a significantly lower global warming potential.

Bacchus Marsh is situated in a unique environmental position, lying in a rain shadow created by the Otway Ranges to the southwest. Consequently, the area is relatively dry, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 500mm. The region's soils are geologically diverse; while the project site itself sits on a seam of Maddingley Brown Coal (a form of lignite), the surrounding landscape consists largely of volcanic basalt plains featuring alkaline red texture-contrast soils and heavy clays. This fertile soil profile supports the region's well-known market gardens, orchards, and grazing activities.

The Maddingley site has a notable history, transitioning from a fuel source for Melbourne's paper mills to a strategic waste hub. Interestingly, the brown coal found here is classified as "Leonardite," which is rich in humic acids and is excavated for use as a soil conditioner rather than just for burning. In recent years, the site has attracted significant public attention for being approved to accept contaminated spoil (soil) from Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel project. The project proponent, IGAS Operations (IntelliGas), has also received government funding to expand waste-to-energy infrastructure at the precinct.