MRL Landfill Gas Upgrade Project

MRL Landfill Gas Upgrade Project is a landfill gas capture and electricity generation project located at the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall, approximately 25km west of the Melbourne CBD in Victoria. It was registered in March 2023 and operates within Cleanaway's largest national asset, which covers over 200 hectares.

Projects under the Electricity Generation from Landfill Gas methodology involve upgrading an existing landfill gas collection system to capture and combust methane-rich gas generated by decomposing legacy and non-legacy waste. This captured gas is then converted into renewable electricity, preventing potent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and supplying power to the electricity grid.

The surrounding Ravenhall area is situated on the western fringe of Melbourne and is characterised by industrial precincts, waste management facilities, quarrying, and historical grazing lands. The local environment sits on the Victorian Volcanic Plains, experiencing a temperate, relatively low rainfall climate (due to Melbourne's rain shadow) and is defined by its heavy basalt clay soils.

An interesting note is that the Melbourne Regional Landfill is Victoria's largest engineered landfill, processing over 2 million tonnes of waste per annum. The project is operated by Landfill Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd. Recently, the project received an EPA works approval to double the site's biogas power station capacity by adding eight 1.115 MW biogas engines, designed to substantially increase the renewable energy output while strictly managing the site's greenhouse gas emissions.