Kestrel Waste Coal Mine Gas Power Station (Revoked)

Kestrel Waste Coal Mine Gas Power Station (Revoked) was an industrial fugitive emissions project located at the Kestrel Coal Mine, approximately 23km south of the town of Tieri and 50km northeast of Emerald in Queensland's Bowen Basin. Registered in November 2018 and revoked in November 2023, the project was situated within a region heavily utilized for metallurgical coal mining, coexisting with agricultural land uses such as cattle grazing and dryland cropping.

The project operated under the Coal Mine Waste Gas methodology, which incentivizes the capture and combustion of fugitive methane released during underground mining operations. Instead of venting this potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, the project utilized methane-rich waste gas to fuel electricity production devices. This process converts the methane into carbon dioxide, which has a significantly lower global warming potential, and generates useful energy that displaces fossil-fuel-intensive grid electricity.

The surrounding Central Highlands region is characterized by a semi-arid to sub-tropical climate with highly variable rainfall, typically concentrated in the summer months. The landscape is dominated by fertile cracking clay soils, known as Vertosols or "black soils," which are typical of the Bowen Basin's agricultural and mining belts.

Notable for its revocation in late 2023 under Section 30 of the CFI Rule (Voluntary Revocation), the project appears to have been a precursor to a significant expansion at the site. Following the revocation, the Queensland Government announced funding in 2024 through the Low Emissions Investment Partnerships (LEIP) program to support a new 30MW waste gas power station at Kestrel Mine. This suggests the revocation was a strategic administrative step to facilitate a larger, upgraded abatement activity involving the proponent, EDL Projects, and Kestrel Coal Resources.