Shoalhaven LFG Upgrade Project

Shoalhaven LFG Upgrade Project is a landfill gas to electricity project located at the West Nowra Recycling and Waste Depot, approximately 5km west of Nowra in New South Wales. It was registered in December 2020.

Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas projects involve upgrading an existing landfill gas collection system to capture methane-rich biogas generated by legacy and non-legacy waste, and combusting it to generate renewable electricity. Standard requirements dictate that emissions reductions are calculated based on the volume of methane securely destroyed in a combustion device or generator above a required regulatory baseline.

The surrounding Shoalhaven region is known for dairy farming, grazing, native forestry, and coastal tourism. The area is considered a high rainfall coastal environment, and soils in the West Nowra district generally consist of sandy loams over clay subsoils derived from sandstone geology.

This project was originally registered by the Shoalhaven City Council before being transferred to LGI Limited in March 2021. Following the transition and methodology variation, LGI successfully installed new ERF-compliant flares and doubled the landfill's biogas extraction rates, leading to over 72,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent abated in the 2023 financial year alone. The project is now progressing beyond gas flaring to include a renewable power station with advanced battery storage, designed to supply consistent, dispatchable energy to stabilize the local grid. To date, the project has generated over 130,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).