Rockhampton Landfill Gas Project

The Rockhampton Landfill Gas Project is a landfill gas (LFG) project located at the Lakes Creek Road Waste Management Facility, approximately 6km east of the Rockhampton CBD in Queensland. Registered in June 2020, the project operates within the Rockhampton Regional Council's primary waste disposal site. It was established to install a new gas collection system comprising a network of wells and pipes to capture methane generated by decomposing organic waste.

Landfill gas projects operate by extracting methane, a potent greenhouse gas released during the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, and combusting it. This process converts the methane into carbon dioxide, which has a significantly lower global warming potential. In this specific project, the gas is currently destroyed via a high-temperature biogas flare installed by the proponent, LMS Energy. While the primary activity is flaring, the infrastructure has been designed with the potential to add a power generation module in the future, which would allow the site to export renewable electricity to the grid.

The Rockhampton region is characterized by a subtropical climate with a distinct wet season during the summer months and an average annual rainfall of approximately 800mm. The landscape surrounding the Fitzroy River, where the facility is situated, typically consists of alluvial soils and cracking clays (vertosols), supporting the region's extensive cattle grazing industry. The Lakes Creek facility itself is notable for utilizing a "piggyback" expansion method, where new landfill cells are constructed on top of existing ones to extend the site's operational lifespan.