Albury Renewable Energy Hub
The Albury Renewable Energy Hub combines landfill-gas recovery and solar power to generate renewable electricity at the Albury Waste Management Centre.
About the Renewable Energy Hub
In 2019, a 1.1 MW solar photovoltaic system comprising approximately 4,000 panels was added to the existing landfill-gas generation system. Together, the systems brought the site’s installed generation capacity to approximately 2.2 MW.
The solar system generates renewable electricity and supports an electric-vehicle charging station at the facility. Landfill gas is captured and used to generate electricity rather than being released directly into the atmosphere.
Live energy generation
View current electricity-generation information from the Albury Renewable Energy Hub.
Potential annual benefits
These figures represent the modelled potential annual benefits of the combined solar and landfill-gas generation systems. Actual electricity generation and environmental benefits vary with operating conditions.
| Renewable electricity exported: | 11,200 MWh |
|---|---|
| Landfill gas extracted: | 5.6 million m³ |
| Equivalent NSW homes powered: | 2,570 |
| Equivalent electric-vehicle charges: | 225,000 |
| Emissions avoided: | 62,000 tonnes CO₂-e |
| Water savings compared with coal-fired generation: | 24.75 million litres |
How the systems work
Solar energy
The solar panels use solar irradiance to generate direct current, which is converted into alternating current using solar inverters and stepped up to 11 kV before being fed into the national electricity grid.
Landfill gas energy
Methane produced by decomposing waste is captured and used to generate electricity.
Frequently asked questions
The solar photovoltaic farm is rated at 1.1MW. This equates to an annual generation of 2,250MWh of renewable electricity, which is enough to power approximately 400 homes or over 1,000 electricity users in the local community. This is also the equivalent to saving 4,950,000 litres of water each year when compared to a traditional coal-fired power station.
The projects solar panels will use solar irradiance to generate direct current, which will then be converted into alternative current using solar inverters, and then be stepped up to 11kV to feed into the national electricity grid.
Solar photovoltaic panels are designed to reflect as little light as technically possible (generally around 2% of light received) in order to maximise their efficiency. This is why solar photovoltaic farms are not considered reflective and have been installed at airports around the world.
Solar farms do not emit noise. Solar photovaoltaic technology does not use any moving parts.
The siting of the solar arrays is designed to minimise any visual impact on the site. It is well within the boundary of the landfill area. There are also good foliage barriers along the adjacent roads and the facility has been set back to reduce any visual impact.
Project partners
The Albury Renewable Energy Hub was developed in partnership with LMS Energy and Joule Energy.
Related pages
Albury Waste Management Centre
Sustainability