Abatement is calculated by working out the net abatement amount which is project abatement minus baseline abatement.
Project abatement is calculated as the amount of methane combusted from legacy and non-legacy waste, minus the amount of methane that would have been oxidised in the near-surface conditions of the landfill if it was not collected during the project.
Part 4 Division 3 of the method deals with the calculations involved in determining project abatement.
Baseline abatement is the amount of methane combusted from legacy and non-legacy waste during the project, multiplied by the proportion of methane that would have been combusted in the absence of the project.
Part 4 Division 4 of the method deals with calculating baseline abatement. Some of the major steps involved in calculating baseline abatement include determining:
- regulatory proportion
- default baseline proportion
- baseline proportion.
The
regulatory proportion reflects the amount of methane that would have to be combusted to meet quantitative regulatory requirements.
Schedule 1 in the method describes how to determine this proportion. It can be determined by:
- using regulatory guidelines for landfill in your state or territory
- for new projects – asking your state or territory environmental regulator
- for upgrade projects – asking your state or territory environmental regulator and calculating the collection efficiency of the existing landfill gas system
- engaging an independent expert.
The
default proportion represents qualitative regulatory requirements, and is either 30 per cent or zero per cent. There are no conditions for applying the 30 per cent default, but the zero per cent default can only be applied if you can demonstrate that no qualitative requirements apply to the landfill. Examples of qualitative requirements include:
- install or develop a plan to install a landfill gas collection system
- control or reduce methane concentrations
- control, manage or limit odour
- capture landfill gas where practicable.
The
baseline proportion depends on the type of project.
- For new and recommencing projects, it is the higher of the regulatory proportion or the default proportion.
- For upgrade projects, it is the higher of the regulatory proportion, the default proportion or the proportion of methane combusted during the reporting period that would have been combusted without the project.
Further guidance about how to determine project and baseline abatement can be found in the
guide to the landfill gas method located under Tools and Resources.
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) Landfill Gas Calculator (the Calculator), which is designed to assist in calculating project and baseline abatement, is being updated to accommodate the changes resulting from the 2021 LFG variation.
As specified in section 6 of the Method, where factors or parameters are defined by another document, projects must use the other document as in force at the end of the reporting period.
The NGER Measurement Determination was updated on 1 July 2020, in which factors and parameters used to calculate abatement have changed. Two versions of the Calculator have been developed to reflect the previous and current NGER Measurement Determinations:
Please note these calculators contain macros.