West Belconnen Landfill Gas Upgrade Project

West Belconnen Landfill Gas Upgrade Project is a landfill gas upgrade project located at West Belconnen in the Australian Capital Territory, northwest of the Canberra city centre. It was registered on June 11, 2020. As a landfill gas site, the exact project area size is not specified in public registers, but the surrounding region is characterised by a mix of expanding urban residential development (such as the Ginninderry development) and protected conservation corridors running along the Murrumbidgee River and Ginninderra Creek.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Landfill Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. Landfill gas projects involve upgrading an existing gas collection system to capture and combust methane-rich gas generated by decomposing legacy and non-legacy waste. Standard methodology requirements dictate that the collected gas must be destroyed using an approved combustion device (such as an enclosed flare or a generator) that achieves a destruction efficiency of at least 98%. On May 3, 2023, the project's method was officially varied to Compilation No. 1.

The environmental conditions in the Canberra and West Belconnen region typically consist of a temperate climate with moderate rainfall. The local soils are commonly characterised by shallow to moderately deep texture-contrast soils, such as yellow and red chromosols, as well as heavily compacted clay soils that are often prone to poor drainage.

Interestingly, the project's proponent, LGI Limited, secured a 15-year contract with the ACT Government in 2019 to manage gas infrastructure across territory landfill sites. While the larger Mugga Lane landfill received power generators, the West Belconnen landfill is a closed, suburban site. Because the remaining gas volumes at West Belconnen were deemed insufficient to provide a commercially viable quantity for energy sale, LGI Limited instead installed an enclosed flare to safely manage and destroy the greenhouse gases onsite.