Eastern Creek II - Landfill Gas Project

Grid-connected, distributed generation, renewable
Location: Eartern Creek, NSW

The Site

The Eastern Creek project is in Sydney's west at the Eastern Creek Waste Management Centre, owned by Waste Services NSW. Additional landfill has increased the level of gas production, creating excess fuel supply for the existing turbine capacity. In the past, this excess gas has been flared. The relocation of some existing under-utilised plant within EDL's fleet of modularised power stations means this additional gas can now be beneficially utilised.

"It has all the hallmarks of a sound, sustainable energy project; it creates employment; creates a sustainable economic asset; and most importantly, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions."
Mr Chris Bowen MP, Federal Member for Prospect

Technology

The reciprocating engines are housed in modules designed and manufactured by Energy Developments. Their initial design allowed for easy relocation of modules and the expansion was achieved by relocating existing EDL assets.

Landfill gas is extracted, processed to remove moisture and particulate matter and utilised as fuel for power generation. The gas collection system comprises gas production wells drilled into the landfill. The wells are fitted with wellheads that have valves and flow meters to control the fl ow from each well. An underground pipeline network connects the wells to a central location. The system utilises several dual wells, which collect both landfill and leachate via pumps. Gas blowers maintain vacuum on the gas collection system and compress the gas to the pressure required for supply to the generating plant.

Energy purchase and supply

Fuel is supplied by landfill from the Eastern Creek site and EDL operates the LFG collection system on behalf of Waste Services NSW. The new plant is expected to produce an additional 20 GWh of electricity per annum. All output is sold to Ergon Energy under a long-term agreement. The non-scheduled generator has a nominal output of 1,250 kW per gas engine. The generator is accredited under the MRET Scheme and the NSW Retailer Greenhouse Benchmarks Scheme. Power is generated at 415 volts and stepped up to 11,000 volts for connection to Integral Energy's 11 kV local distribution network.

Environmental impact

Landfill gas, (primarily a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide), has a typical global warming potential of about eight times that of carbon dioxide. Capturing what would otherwise be a fugitive emission and converting it to electricity results in greenhouse emission reductions of approximately 80,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.