German Creek Waste Coal Mine Gas Power Station

German Creek Waste Coal Mine Gas Power Station is an industrial emissions avoidance project located approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Middlemount in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. Registered on December 21, 2021, the project is operated by EDL CSM (Qld) Pty Ltd and services the German Creek mine complex (Capcoal), which is a joint venture between Anglo American and Mitsui Coal Holdings.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Coal Mine Waste Gas) Methodology Determination 2015. It involves the capture and combustion of fugitive methane, a potent greenhouse gas released during underground coal mining operations, to generate electricity. This specific project is classified as operating a "former RET displacement electricity production device," indicating that the generation assets previously created Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) under the Renewable Energy Target but have transitioned to generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). The facility displaces electricity that would otherwise be drawn from the grid, thereby reducing overall emissions intensity.

The Middlemount region is characterized by a mix of intensive coal mining operations and agricultural land use, primarily beef cattle grazing. The environment features a sub-tropical, semi-arid climate with summer-dominant rainfall averaging between 550mm and 700mm annually. The local soil profile is dominated by dark cracking clays (Vertosols) and texture-contrast soils typical of the Brigalow Belt bioregion.

An interesting feature of this project is its significant scale; the power station has a generation capacity of approximately 45MW (comprising varied modules including Caterpillar and Jenbacher sets). It captures waste gas that would otherwise be vented or flared, abating over 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) annually while supplying electricity to the mine and the National Electricity Market.