Toowoomba Waste Management Centre - Landfill Gas Project - 2019

Toowoomba Waste Management Centre - Landfill Gas Project - 2019 is a landfill gas electricity generation project located at the Toowoomba Waste Management Centre in Cranley, on the north-western edge of Toowoomba, Queensland. It was registered in January 2020 and operates across the footprint of the active waste facility.

Electricity generation from landfill gas projects involve installing a gas collection system in a landfill to capture methane-rich biogas generated by decomposing organic waste. The standard requirements dictate that the captured methane must be combusted to produce renewable electricity, and projects earn credits for the additional emissions abated above the site's regulatory baseline (typically a 30% default for standard flaring).

The Darling Downs region surrounding Toowoomba is well known for intensive agriculture, including cropping and livestock grazing. The area experiences a subtropical climate with moderate to high rainfall, and the local soils are widely characterised as highly fertile volcanic basalt and clay.

This project was initially registered as a standard flaring project by the Toowoomba Regional Council before being transferred to clean energy company LGI Limited in June 2020. In a Queensland first, the project was upgraded to include a 1MW gas-fired power station. The captured methane is now used to supply "behind the meter" renewable electricity directly to the adjacent Wetalla Water Reclamation Facility. This setup provides up to 100% of the sewage treatment plant's energy needs, reducing the council's reliance on the grid and saving approximately $600,000 annually in electricity costs, in addition to the revenue generated from ACCUs.