The Sunshine Energy Park (SEP) was a Council / Private adventure into using the methane gas stored in the former Albion Quarry to heat the boilers to turn the generators to generate electricity. This adventure failed as the qualities of methane gas was insufficient which led to a long protracted legal battle between the Council and its Consultants. This redevelopment proposed is to turn the vacant site into a major parkland including large scale tree planting, a possible solar farm, cycling & walking tracks, sports fields & stadiums, play spaces, a large urban forest & wetlands systems and more.Newspaper Article Star Weekly 28th May 2024 Page 1 - Energy park green lightsunshine energy park, hulett street, albion

These photographs, taken by The Advocate in 1999, show the machinery inside the Sunshine Energy Park Turbine House on Hulett Street in Albion. The Sunshine Energy Park (SEP) was a Council / Private adventure into using the methane gas stored in the former Albion Quarry to heat the boilers to turn the generators to generate electricity. This adventure failed as the qualities of methane gas was insufficient which led to a long protracted legal battle between the Council and its Consultants. This redevelopment proposed is to turn the vacant site into a major parkland including large scale tree planting, a possible solar farm, cycling & walking tracks, sports fields & stadiums, play spaces, a large urban forest & wetlands systems and more.These images provide a rare glimpse into the internal machinery housed within the Sunshine Energy Park turbine room.Energy Park Sunshine 1978sunshine energy park, hulett street, albion

Brown hard covered book with a white and red dust jacket. On flyleaf "J.R. Thyer" Stamped "Technical Book & Magazine Co.atomic structure, chemical bonding, milecules, methane, ethylene, benzene, stereo chemistry

Albion Quarry began operations in 1888, and became one of the largest bluestone quarries in Australia, later it became the Sunshine municipal tip. In 1888, quarrying first began on the site by the Wales family. The quarry extracted high quality bluestone, ideal for road construction, railway ballast, culverts, bridges and public buildings and private homes. The site quickly became one of the most productive basalt quarries in the region. In 1907, the Albion Quarry Company was formed as a partnership between Alexander Wales, James Watter, Peter Rumpf, Thomas Adams, William Wright Wales and Alexander George Wales (later Sir George Wales, Lord Mayor of Melbourne) The company became the largest producer of quarry products in the Commonwealth. The quarry pit was, at one time, the largest in Australia. In January 1965, Boral acquired both Albion Quarry and Reid Quarry, merging them into Albion Reid Pty Ltd. Quarrying there continued until the late 1960s–early 1970s. After quarrying ceased, the enormous pit was used as the Sunshine municipal tip. Dumped into the hole included household waste, industrial waste, chemical waste, radioactive waste and large quantities of unknown fill. Dumping continued until 1990. In the 1990’s, a methane powered electricity plant was installed on the site, but it failed due to insufficient methane production. In 2019, the former quarry made national news due to ground contamination affecting 69 residential homes, 6 commercial properties and a community park. The site is now being reserved for the future Sunshine Energy Park and is awaiting redevelopment. This quarry is historically significant for its scale, its role in Melbourne’s infrastructure, and its later environmental legacy.These photographs document the initial phase of quarrying, featuring manual labour and transportation by horse and cart.Albion basalt quarryalbion quarry, ballarat road, albion, basalt, hulett street

The history of this land dates back many decades, when at first in the late 19th century, the site started as a quarry, and this continued until the late 1960's. During this time large quantities of bluestone was extracted from the site, The site was then purchased by the City of Sunshine which subsequently turned it into a tip. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, this disused quarry then became one of the main waste disposal sites for metropolitan Melbourne. The site now has long and documented history of toxic gas leakage and contaminated soil risks, especially where residential and community buildings were later constructed on or near uncompacted waste. The most authoritative, recent public reporting confirms long‑term methane and other landfill gas concerns, plus legacy contamination risks that were not consistently disclosed to buyers.These photographs show the tip in action when it was accepting waste. The photographs also provide a good indication of the depth of the quarry hole in the 1990's.Sunshine Tips 164.2sunshine tip

The history of this land dates back many decades, when at first in the late 19th century, the site started as a quarry, and this continued until the late 1960's. During this time large quantities of bluestone was extracted from the site, The site was then purchased by the City of Sunshine which subsequently turned it into a tip. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, this disused quarry then became one of the main waste disposal sites for metropolitan Melbourne. The site now has long and documented history of toxic gas leakage and contaminated soil risks, especially where residential and community buildings were later constructed on or near uncompacted waste. The most authoritative, recent public reporting confirms long‑term methane and other landfill gas concerns, plus legacy contamination risks that were not consistently disclosed to buyers.The City of Brimbank is now responsible for managing the legacy impacts of the closed Sunshine Tip, even though Brimbank did not operate the tip, but as it was operated by the former City of Sunshine, Brimbank inherited the consequences due to the council amalgamations of 1994. This site demonstrates how legacy contamination can create long‑term constraints and risks for later development, long after the original waste‑disposal activities have ended. Land effected by the environmental issues include but not limited to; Ballarat Road Albion Nos 570, 570A, 576, 562-568, 556-560, 528A and 528B Carrington Drive Albion Nos 19, 20 and 27 Denton Avenue St. Albans Nos 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57 (House Demolished), 59, 61, 63 (House Demolished), 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 1/105, 2/105, 107, 109, 111, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121A, 121B, 121, 123A, 123B, 123, 125, 127, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 137A, 139, 141 and 14 Toora Court St. Albans Nos 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Other land effected includes; Karen Place St. Albans City of Brimbank owned land (21.8 hectares) Hulett Street Albion (0.54 hectares) M80 Western Ring Road (7.74 hectares)Planning and Environment Act 1987 Panel Report Brimbank Planning Scheme Amendment C212brim Former Sunshine Landfills Environmental Audit Overlaysunshine tip, hulett street, albion, sunshine landfill, ballarat road, carrington drive, denton avenue, toora court, m80 western ring road, st. albans, karen place