Landfill gas-to-energy plants at our waste facilities

Landfill gases, such as methane, are produced when bacteria break down organic waste.

Council has partnered with LGI to capture the methane gas from our landfills and convert it into renewable energy by installing landfill gas-to-energy plants.

These plants, located at the Dakabin, Bunya and Caboolture waste facilities, generate enough energy to power up to 7,000 homes.

How landfill gas-to-energy plants work

Through a series of wells and pipes, greenhouse gases from landfill are captured before they enter the atmosphere.

Watch the video: Converting gas from landfill into energy.
View the video transcript.

The gas, which is about 40-60% methane, is sent to a central location where it is processed and then converted to carbon dioxide, which is about 28 times less harmful to the environment.

The energy plants can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as the power source is always present and runs with minimal downtime.

The energy created is delivered to the National Energy Market.

Environmental benefits

Converting methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the less harmful carbon dioxide offers several benefits, including:

  • a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
  • efficient use of waste
  • a reduction in landfill odour
  • improved air quality
  • a decreased risk of landfill fires.

Green energy dashboard

The green energy dashboard provides an overview of the energy generated from Council’s landfill gas-to-energy plants. It shows the:

  • total energy generated
  • cubic metres of biogas captured
  • total carbon abatement (the amount of greenhouse gases prevented from entering the atmosphere).

MWH Power Generation

Chart Options

Select dates

Energy Generated ? Megawatt hours of power generated from landfill waste facilities

MWh

Biogas Captured ? Gas captured from landfill and used as a renewable energy source

m3

Carbon Abatement ? Greenhouse gasses prevented from entering the atmosphere

TCO2e

Using the dashboard

  • Select Energy generated to view how many megawatt hours of power have been generated by each waste facility per month.
  • View Biogas captured for how many cubic metres of gas have been captured from landfill and are entering the energy plants each month.
  • The Homes powered button shows how many homes have been powered by the three landfill gas-to-energy plants.

Note: Outages to data collection may occur and affect the totals displayed on the dashboard.

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