ACT’s Mugga Lane landfill will expand its landfill gas capture, introduce 12MW of battery storage and a 20MW connection to the grid, and is expected to reduce emissions and provide reliable renewable energy that could power up to 10,800 homes each year.
The expansion project will include the establishment of two additional 1MW gas to energy generators, an additional 12MW of battery storage and a 20MW grid connection with Evoenergy.
Once the project is completed, it is expected the Mugga Lane landfill gas facility will have capacity to generate 50,000MWh of dispatchable energy.
Adding the battery system will provide storage capacity and rapid dispatch of the renewable energy generated by the engines, at times when the grid needs it most.
The project is being delivered through the expansion of a partnership with Australian owned and operated clean energy engineers, LGI, which will deliver thea landfill gas expansion project.
The project builds upon a successful three-year program. It will further enhance capabilities for capturing harmful methane emissions generated at Mugga Lane landfill and transforming it into reliable renewable energy for the ACT.
LGI Founder and Managing Director, Adam Bloomer, said that emissions from landfills without biogas management systems can be a significant problem and can contribute up to 80 per cent of a local government’s carbon footprint.
The ACT Government has said that its priority is to reduce and recycle organic food waste to divert it from landfill, minimising harmful waste emissions. Capturing the emissions created by the organic material that does end up in landfill, however, is also key.
“The ACT Government’s carbon cutting approach of using proven, cost-effective technologies to capture and abate the harmful methane emissions from Mugga Lane and generate reliable, dispatchable, 24/7 renewable energy is an example of what progressive governments can achieve by prioritising the environment,” Mr Bloomer said.
As part of the LGI partnership, the ACT has been able to reduce carbon emissions by 764,000t over the past three years.
The project will see two additional full-time positions employed on the site and significant investment into the local economy through the engagement of local contractors for everything from concreting to catering.
Featured image: The Mugga Lane landfill gas facility. Image credit: The ACT Government.
