The ACT Government is driving a circular economy by expanding landfill gas capture at the Mugga Lane landfill, reducing emissions and providing reliable renewable energy that could power up to 10,800 homes each year.
The groundbreaking partnership between the ACT Government and LGI Limited (LGI) at the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre commenced in 2020 with LGI delivering significant upgrades to the site's landfill gas extraction system.
Stage 1 of the landfill gas-to-energy facility expansion was completed in November 2024, with the successful commissioning of two new generators and a grid connection to Evoenergy – growing the facility's electricity transmission capacity to 20 Megawatts (MW).
Deputy Director General for City Services, Bruce Fitzgerald said the ACT Government is committed to working with green technology industry leaders to preserve the environment, while also delivering benefits to the Canberra community.
"We want to reduce and recycle organic food waste to divert it from landfill and minimise the generation of harmful waste emissions. However, we can also capture the emissions created by organic material and use it to generate energy, benefitting the community."
Work is continuing on Stage 2 of the expansion project, which will see 12MW of battery storage added to the facility, complementing the 6MW of landfill gas fuelled generators already on site. This will allow unused electricity to be stored for use later during peak times – strengthening the resilience and reliability of our local electricity grid. LGI has ordered the 12MW batteries which are scheduled to arrive in late 2025.
Mitigation measures remain in place throughout the expansion project to reduce potential odour impacts to the community. "We continue to work closely with the ACT Environment Protection Authority to minimise environmental impacts wherever possible" said Mr Fitzgerald.
LGI recovers biogas from landfill, reduces methane emissions and helps progressive councils achieve their ambitious reduction targets. Their approach is measurable, immediate, irreversible and produces high-integrity Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
To date LGI's partnership with the ACT Government covers the Mugga Lane and West Belconnen sites, allowing the clean energy operator to reduce (CO2e) emissions by more than 1.34 million tonnes, which is the equivalent of planting 22.4 million seedlings over the next decade.
Since 2020, 141 million cubic metres of biogas has been captured at the two sites, with 142GWh of renewable energy generated and over 122,000 ACCUs created.
As more waste is placed at the Mugga Lane facility each year, the landfill gas-to-energy facility expansion project demonstrates the value the ACT Government places on reducing emissions and creating renewable energy.
Extensions to the gas extraction system include drilling vertical wells into the landfill site and laying connecting pipework back to the power station. Currently LGI is undertaking a drilling programme of 33 new wells which will increase overall gas capture by at least 10 per cent.
"Upgrades to the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre's gas extraction system and the installation of generators and connection to the grid is a massive win for the environment. The addition of onsite battery storage also allows LGI to control the flow of energy into the grid to create a more stable power supply in times of peak demand."
"It also enhances the existing income stream from the energy generated, which can be invested back into the ACT community," concluded Mr Fitzgerald.
Quotes attributable to Jarryd Doran, Chief Executive Officer at LGI Limited:
"Completion of Stage 1 of the project is a game changer for the sector. We expect the National Energy Market to continue its current trend of increasing volatility, with negative prices during the day and high to extreme pricing during periods of high demand."
"The market needs clean, reliable, affordable power. LGI can now generate, store or dispatch and distribute renewable energy in seconds from the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre when, and where it's needed. The supply of consistent and dispatchable (baseload and peaking) renewable power into the local grid helps stabilise the local electricity system."
"This approach complements the intermittent forms of renewables, including wind and solar. The renewable power generated from biogas and distributed from the waste and recycling facility is also available 24/7. The onsite battery milestone has been two years in the making and is an extension of the Bunya Renewable Power Station LGI built in 2018."
