Crown Trigeneration Replacement Project (Revoked)

The Crown Trigeneration Replacement Project (Revoked) is an industrial energy efficiency project located within the Crown Melbourne entertainment complex in Southbank, directly adjacent to the Melbourne CBD. Registered in August 2018, the project operated for approximately five years before being voluntarily revoked in November 2023. The project area encompasses the highly urbanized precinct on the southern bank of the Yarra River, predominantly utilized for commercial, entertainment, and hospitality purposes rather than traditional agricultural land uses.

The project operated under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction) Methodology Determination 2021, having transitioned from the earlier 2015 Industrial Electricity and Fuel Efficiency method. This methodology credits the reduction of emissions achieved by upgrading or replacing energy-consuming equipment. Specifically, this project focused on the installation of a co-generation or tri-generation system. These systems generate electricity on-site (usually via natural gas engines) and uniquely capture the waste heat to provide heating and cooling for the facility. By substituting grid-supplied electricity with on-site generation and utilizing waste heat that would otherwise be lost, the project significantly improved the energy efficiency of the complex.

Environmentally, the Southbank region experiences a temperate oceanic climate with variable rainfall averaging approximately 600mm annually. While the site is entirely sealed by urban infrastructure, the underlying geology of this riverside area is historically characterized by Coode Island Silt and Yarra Delta sediments, dark, soft silty clays often found in the lower Yarra areas. The project’s revocation under section 30 of the CFI Rule indicates a voluntary exit from the scheme by the proponent, Crown Melbourne Limited, potentially due to the conclusion of the crediting period or a strategic shift in corporate sustainability reporting.