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Landfill gas is renewable energy source
By Sandra Smith
FORSYTH/GUILFORD COUNTY LINE – Imagine 959,464 tons of old banana peels, coffee grounds, egg shells and other household waste rotting away. That’s exactly what’s happening underground at the Piedmont Sanitary Landfill.
But there’s plenty of activity at the landfill that officially closed six years ago besides the decomposition of garbage. Waste Management, owner of the 300-acre landfill on the Forsyth/Guilford County border, is building a power plant at the site that will turn methane gas into power for more than 1,000 area homes.
Methane is a naturally occurring substance that builds up as garbage in the landfill decomposes. Some systems vent and burn off the gas, something that “serves no beneficial purpose,” says Ken Haldin, director of communications for Waste Management’s Southern Group.
“We’re installing a system designed to capture the methane, to beneficially use it and convert it into electricity,” says Haldin. The company will sell the electricity to Duke Energy after connecting to its power grid.
“We’re aggressively installing them across the country,” says Haldin of the systems. “It’s part of our overall sustainability strategy.”
The EPA encourages the capture and conversion of landfill gas (LFG) to other energy sources through its Landfill Methane Outreach Program. Using landfill gas “helps reduce odors and other hazards associated with LFG emissions, and it helps prevent methane from migrating into the atmosphere and contributing to local smog and global climate change,” the EPA website says.
Haldin could not cite specifically how long the Piedmont Landfill might be a productive energy source, but said that while methane in landfills declines over time, such sources generally last for decades.
The power facility at Piedmont Landfill is expected to be completed early next year.
In 2007, Waste Management, a Houston-based company, announced its plans to open 60 renewable energy facilities in the next five years. It opened its first facility using the technology about 25 years ago. According to company literature, it now supplies landfill-gas to over 115 North American projects and provides enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes, saving over 2.2 million tons of coal annually.
The power plant at Piedmont Landfill will generate 2.4 megawatts of power, or enough for about 1,339 homes using state-of-the-art equipment. “This power plant is a renewable energy source that reduces pollution in the environment,” says James Kisiel, project manager for Waste Management Renewable Energy.
Despite rumors, there are no efforts to reopen the landfill, Kisiel says, a fact confirmed by the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “Instead of collecting methane and (getting rid of it by) burning it through a flare, they want to generate electricity with it,” says John Murray, a DENR permit engineer.
While the project will be a positive way to use an otherwise unneeded byproduct, the company’s efforts aren’t totally altruistic. Along with complying with government regulations, the company receives compensation from the sale of the electricity, and grants, loans, incentives and tax credits are also available.
Piedmont Sanitary Landfill opened in July 1990 and was originally sited as a local landfill that would last 23-30 years. But Waste Management then requested and received permission to bring in garbage from across North Carolina and six other states. Residents banded together, forming Neighbors for Environmental Safety Today, and repeatedly fought the megacorporation that owns and operates about 280 landfills in the United States. Nearly filled in eight years, Waste Management cut back on accepting garbage while trying to expand into Guilford County, a move nixed by county commissioners. The landfill was completely filled and closed in 14 years.
But there’s plenty of activity at the landfill that officially closed six years ago besides the decomposition of garbage. Waste Management, owner of the 300-acre landfill on the Forsyth/Guilford County border, is building a power plant at the site that will turn methane gas into power for more than 1,000 area homes.
Methane is a naturally occurring substance that builds up as garbage in the landfill decomposes. Some systems vent and burn off the gas, something that “serves no beneficial purpose,” says Ken Haldin, director of communications for Waste Management’s Southern Group.
“We’re installing a system designed to capture the methane, to beneficially use it and convert it into electricity,” says Haldin. The company will sell the electricity to Duke Energy after connecting to its power grid.
“We’re aggressively installing them across the country,” says Haldin of the systems. “It’s part of our overall sustainability strategy.”
The EPA encourages the capture and conversion of landfill gas (LFG) to other energy sources through its Landfill Methane Outreach Program. Using landfill gas “helps reduce odors and other hazards associated with LFG emissions, and it helps prevent methane from migrating into the atmosphere and contributing to local smog and global climate change,” the EPA website says.
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The power facility at Piedmont Landfill is expected to be completed early next year.
In 2007, Waste Management, a Houston-based company, announced its plans to open 60 renewable energy facilities in the next five years. It opened its first facility using the technology about 25 years ago. According to company literature, it now supplies landfill-gas to over 115 North American projects and provides enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes, saving over 2.2 million tons of coal annually.
The power plant at Piedmont Landfill will generate 2.4 megawatts of power, or enough for about 1,339 homes using state-of-the-art equipment. “This power plant is a renewable energy source that reduces pollution in the environment,” says James Kisiel, project manager for Waste Management Renewable Energy.
Despite rumors, there are no efforts to reopen the landfill, Kisiel says, a fact confirmed by the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “Instead of collecting methane and (getting rid of it by) burning it through a flare, they want to generate electricity with it,” says John Murray, a DENR permit engineer.
While the project will be a positive way to use an otherwise unneeded byproduct, the company’s efforts aren’t totally altruistic. Along with complying with government regulations, the company receives compensation from the sale of the electricity, and grants, loans, incentives and tax credits are also available.
Piedmont Sanitary Landfill opened in July 1990 and was originally sited as a local landfill that would last 23-30 years. But Waste Management then requested and received permission to bring in garbage from across North Carolina and six other states. Residents banded together, forming Neighbors for Environmental Safety Today, and repeatedly fought the megacorporation that owns and operates about 280 landfills in the United States. Nearly filled in eight years, Waste Management cut back on accepting garbage while trying to expand into Guilford County, a move nixed by county commissioners. The landfill was completely filled and closed in 14 years.
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Marilyn James wrote on Nov 12, 2010 11:12 AM: