Mulgoa Road LFG Emission Avoidance Project (Revoked)

Mulgoa Road LFG Emission Avoidance Project (Revoked) is a landfill gas emission avoidance project located at the Penrith Landfill Depot on Mulgoa Road in Mulgoa, approximately 12km south of the major city of Penrith in Western Sydney, NSW. Registered in November 2018 by the proponent, Penrith Waste Services Pty. Limited, the project was designed to capture and combust greenhouse gases generated at the landfill facility.

Landfill gas projects operate under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. These projects generally involve installing a new, or upgrading an existing, landfill gas collection system to safely capture and combust methane generated by decomposing legacy and non-legacy organic waste. By converting methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, into less harmful carbon dioxide through flaring or electricity generation, these systems prevent significant environmental emissions.

The Mulgoa and Greater Penrith region is located within the Cumberland Plain, a region characterised by a temperate climate with moderate rainfall and heavy clay soils derived from underlying Wianamatta shale. Historically, the surrounding Mulgoa Valley has been utilised for rural agricultural activities, cattle grazing, and historic rural estates. Today, the region's land use is transitioning rapidly to include large-scale residential masterplanned communities, while still retaining important environmental conservation areas that buffer the nearby Blue Mountains National Park.

An interesting note about this specific project is that it was originally contracted under the December 2018 auction to deliver a fixed obligation of 170,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the Commonwealth (Contract CAC941352). However, the contract lapsed and was eventually terminated. The project itself was officially revoked on September 29, 2023, under Section 30 of the CFI Rule. Despite the carbon project's revocation, the Penrith Landfill Depot remains a crucial piece of waste management infrastructure for the expanding Western Sydney area.