Centurion Underground Mine Waste Gas Electricity Generation Project - Centurion North

The Centurion Underground Mine Waste Gas Electricity Generation Project - Centurion North is a coal mine waste gas project located at the Centurion Coal Mine (formerly known as North Goonyella), approximately 40 kilometres north of Moranbah in the Bowen Basin region of Queensland. Registered on March 16, 2025, the project operates within the mining lease of the Centurion mine, which is owned by Peabody Energy. While the specific project area size is not listed in the registry, the mine itself sits on a significant lease within a region characterized by extensive coal mining operations and cattle grazing on surrounding pastoral leases.

This project operates under the Coal Mine Waste Gas methodology, which rewards the capture and combustion of methane that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere during underground mining operations. Specifically, this is a "displacement electricity production" project. The proponent, EDL Holdings, has installed electricity production devices, reported as a scalable gas power station starting at 5 MW capacity, to utilize the captured methane. This generates electricity to power the mine's operations, displacing the need for electricity from the grid and thereby reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The environmental conditions in the Moranbah region are typical of the semi-arid, sub-tropical Bowen Basin. The area experiences summer-dominant rainfall with distinct wet and dry seasons. The landscape consists largely of flat to rolling plains featuring heavy cracking clay soils (often black vertosols) and brigalow scrub, which supports the region's agricultural viability outside of mining.

An interesting aspect of this project is its context within the mine's redevelopment. The facility was formerly the North Goonyella mine, which closed in 2018 due to an underground fire. Peabody Energy rebranded the operation as "Centurion" upon its reopening. The gas power station is part of a broader greenhouse gas abatement plan for the site, which includes not only power generation but also potential future capabilities to convert excess gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the domestic market.