Gladstone Alternative Fuels Increase Program

Gladstone Alternative Fuels Increase Program is an industrial fuel switching project located at Cement Australia's manufacturing facility at Fisherman's Landing, approximately 15km northwest of Gladstone on the central Queensland coast. Registered in August 2022, the project operates within the facility's existing footprint and focuses on reducing energy emissions. While the immediate coastal area is dominated by heavy industry and port facilities, the broader Gladstone region's land use is largely dedicated to cattle grazing, agriculture, and forestry.

The project falls under the Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction (ICER) 2021 methodology. Projects of this type reduce greenhouse gas emissions by upgrading industrial equipment or altering the energy mix. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that facilities must establish a historical emissions baseline and prove continuous, quantifiable emissions reductions by changing energy sources, or modifying, installing, and replacing emissions-producing equipment.

The Gladstone region features a sub-tropical climate with a distinct summer wet season, experiencing a moderate-to-high average annual rainfall of approximately 880mm. The local coastal geology around Fisherman's Landing includes marine clays, coastal mudflats, and reclaimed land, while the inland catchments are defined by complex structural geomorphology containing erodible soils and localized pockets of deep, fertile agricultural land.

Interestingly, Cement Australia operates as Queensland's only fully integrated cement producer, managing the entire supply chain from their East End limestone mine to the milling plant at Fisherman's Landing. The proponent, Cement Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, is a joint venture owned equally by global building materials corporations Holcim and Heidelberg Materials. This carbon project is a critical component of their "Low Carbon Cement" initiative, demonstrating a tangible effort to decarbonize one of the most historically emissions-intensive manufacturing sectors.