Wollongong Landfill Gas Upgrade Project

The Wollongong Landfill Gas Upgrade Project is a landfill gas capture operation located at the Whytes Gully Waste and Resource Recovery Centre, approximately 13 kilometers southwest of the Wollongong CBD in New South Wales. Registered in March 2020 by LMS Energy Pty Ltd, the project operates within the Illawarra region, an area characterized by a mix of heavy industry, residential development, and surrounding grazing lands along the escarpment foothills.

Landfill gas projects involve the installation of wells and pipe networks to vacuum methane generated by decomposing organic waste. This gas is then combusted (flared or used for electricity generation) to convert potent methane into less harmful carbon dioxide. As an "Upgrade" project under the 2015 Methodology, this specific initiative focuses on improving the efficiency of an existing gas collection system to capture emissions that would have otherwise escaped. This often involves installing additional vertical or horizontal wells and upgrading combustion technology to exceed historical capture rates.

The project is situated in a high-rainfall coastal climate, which accelerates waste decomposition and gas generation. The local terrain typically features the clay and loam soils common to the Illawarra escarpment, though the immediate site is a heavily modified engineered landfill. Specific upgrades at the Whytes Gully facility have reportedly included the installation of horizontal gas wells, helping to significantly increase the site's gas capture efficiency from historical levels. The site processes approximately 80,000 tonnes of waste annually, and the captured gas contributes to renewable energy generation, reducing the facility's overall carbon footprint.