What could be more “sustainable” than turning waste into energy? It’s certainly not a new idea, but as we begin to focus ever more intently on energy efficiency, it’s become clear that our landfills offer a bounty of environmentally friendly power.
Case in point, the Lewisville landfill. As reported early this week in the Dallas News, landfill gas-to-energy is a big hit in Dallas–Ft. Worth, where three landfills (operated by Waste Management Inc.) generate enough power to supply 15,000 homes per year.
For the uninitiated, harnessing landfill gas for energy involves the capture of methane gas—which is created by decomposing trash—and using that gas to fuel turbines or engines, which, in turn, generate electricity. Using this method, the Lewisville landfill generates 1.6 megawatts per hour. There’s also the added benefit of greenhouse gas reductions by taking what could be harmful methane gas emissions and, instead, turning that gas into a renewable energy source.
In the case of the Lewisville landfill, that electricity is fed back into the electrical grid, but it could just as easily be diverted to landfill operations and even facilities located nearby.
The landfill gas potential is great—but at this point, it’s still just potential. According to the EPA, of the nation’s 2,300 landfills, only 480 are capturing methane for energy. By EPA estimates, if we could get all of our landfills to participate, we could generate enough clean, renewable energy to power 680,000 homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to removing 9.2 millions cars from the roads.
So what do you think? Cost is obviously an issue—as the Dallas News article points out, it can cost between $9 million and $12 million to construct a production facility. But isn’t this exactly the kind of project that should qualify for energy efficiency funding under the ARRA? And does it makes sense to pump that methane-power back into the grid, or would a distributed energy system be a better use of those landfill resources?