Landfill Gas In The US  

TreeHugger has a post on the potential for landfill gas based power generation in the US - Landfill Gas to Energy: A Growing Alternative Energy Resource.

Please welcome once again, Wes Muir, Director of Communications for Waste Management, Inc. Wes is back with an overview of landfill gas to energy prospects for the USA - a 2,500 megawatt opportunity.

Many Americans are increasingly turning to alternative forms of energy, and one exciting source that has seen recent resurgence in use is landfill gas. This rise in the use of landfill gas can be attributed to a variety of factors. Higher energy prices make landfill gas cost-competitive, especially compared to other sources of renewable energy. Second, utilities are looking for new sources of renewable energy to meet renewable portfolio standards, and landfill gas is especially valuable to them because it provides base load power. There’s also a real demand from consumers for greener energy and many of them are taking part in voluntary programs and are willing to pay more for power derived from renewable sources.

What exactly is landfill gas? Landfill gas is produced when microorganisms break down organic material in the landfill, and is comprised of approximately 50-60 percent methane and 40-50 percent carbon dioxide. At most landfills in the United States, these greenhouse gases are simply burned off, or “flared.” (As pictured.)

However, Waste Management (WM) has over 100 sites that have landfill gas to energy (LFGTE) facilities – and we plan to build another 60 plants by 2012 - that collect methane and use it to fuel onsite engines or turbines, generating electricity to power surrounding homes and neighborhoods. By building LFGTE facilities, WM further reduces greenhouse gases by offsetting the use of fossil fuel at the utility power plants.

According to EPA data, there are currently 425 landfills with LFGTE projects in the U.S. that power more than 1 million homes. They estimate that there are about 570 landfills that have the potential to develop LFGTE projects in the future, more than doubling the current amount of energy produced from 1,180 megawatts to more than 2,500 megawatts. Hence, there is a large supply of renewable energy across the country, literally at our doorstep.