Numerous landfill gas (LFG) energy projects became operational throughout the country since our last issue of the Gasette, several of which are highlighted below.

California

In January 2011, Cox Communications began using fuel cells powered by LFG to run its data center in San Diego, California. Cox Communications is using two PureCell® Model 400 fuel cells purchased from LMOP Industry Partner UTC Power. Together, the two fuel cells are capable of producing 800 kilowatts (kW), which will generate enough on-site power to reduce the company’s dependence on the local power grid and decrease its carbon footprint. More recently, in February 2011, two additional PureCell® Model 400 fuel cells were added to Cox Communication’s Rancho Santa Margarita facility in Orange County, California. The newest fuel cell system—powered by a blend of LFG and natural gas—is capable of producing 800 kW, and provides nearly 60 percent of the building’s electricity requirement.

Sources: Cox Communications, “Cox Communications Completes Fuel Cell Projects in California,” February 4, 2011; UTC Power, “Cox Communications Partners with UTC Power to Install Fuel Cells in California (PDF) (2 pp, 43K),” February 7, 2011.

Michigan

In March 2011, LMOP Energy Partner Midland Energy, LLC’s LFG energy facility at the Midland Sanitary Landfill in Midland, Michigan, became operational. LFG is used to power Midland’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), and waste heat is captured and used to help heat on-site buildings and holding tanks used in the treatment of raw sewage. The LFG powers two 1.6 MW generators manufactured by LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar, Inc. More electricity will eventually be produced than is needed for the WWTP, and this surplus electricity will be sold to Consumers Energy Company for distribution to its customers. To help pay for the project, Midland borrowed $10 million from the state through a Revolving Loan Fund at a 2.5 percent interest rate; the city will be required to pay back only $6 million as a result of a loan forgiveness grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Sources: Waste Management World, “Landfill Gas to Energy Project to Power Waste Water Treatment Plant,” January 19, 2011; Midland Daily News, “Making Trash Work: Gas-to-Energy Facility Opens in Midland,” March 4, 2011.

South Carolina

In March 2011, LMOP Community Partner Berkeley County Water and Sanitation Authority and LMOP Energy Partner Santee Cooper held a dedication event for the Berkeley Green Power Generating Station. The project, which had to be put on hold when the county could not find a suitable end-user, finally got the green light in May 2010. The project, Santee Cooper’s sixth LFG energy project, is a joint effort to generate renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by the county’s two landfills. Two 1.6 MW LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar, Inc. engines are installed, one of which is being utilized initially. LMOP Industry Partner Blue Source marketed carbon credits from the project, and Google has signed a contract to purchase all of the carbon offsets resulting from GHG reductions at the county landfills through 2013 to help meet its company-wide goal of carbon neutrality. Berkeley County self-developed this project, and owns, operates, and maintains the project.

Source: News 4 Charleston, SC, “Santee Cooper, Berkeley County Dedicate Green Power Generating Station,” March 24, 2011.

Texas

On January 6, 2011, LMOP Industry Partner Waste Management, Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its new LFG energy project at the Mesquite Creek Landfill in New Braunfels, Texas. The project, operational since December 2010, uses two 1.6 MW engines from LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar, Inc. to produce more than 3 MW of electricity, which is purchased and distributed by New Braunfels Utilities (NBU). NBU has a 20-year renewable power purchase agreement with the project.

Source: New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, “Turning Trash Into Power,” January 12, 2011.

Washington

In February 2011, King County, Washington, announced it was selling emissions credits from the LFG energy facility at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. Crews completed major construction on the plant in March 2009, and it began operating last year. The LFG energy facility is operated by LMOP Industry Partner INGENCO’s subsidiary Bio Energy Washington and includes a quarter-mile pipeline for transporting the processed LFG to Williams Northwest Pipeline and on to Puget Sound Energy’s power plants. Utilizing approximately 7,400 scfm of LFG, this facility is one of the largest LFG energy plants in the nation.

Source: Issaquah Press.com, “County Announces Deal to Turn Trash Gas into Cash,” February 8, 2011.

West Virginia

In February 2011, the first LFG electricity project in West Virginia became operational. Charleston Clean Energy, LLC built the project at the Charleston Landfill in Kanawha with assistance from LMOP Industry Partners Sindicatum Carbon Capital Americas, LLC and TerraPass. The facility uses two engines from LMOP Industry Partner GE Energy - Jenbacher Gas Engines to produce 1.9 MW of energy. The electricity is sold to the local utility, Appalachian Power Company, where it is distributed to customers.

Source: West Virginia Outpost, “Methane Power Plant to Begin Operations in West Virginia,” December 5, 2010.

Wisconsin

In April 2011, a second LFG energy project at LMOP Community Partner Dane County, Wisconsin’s Rodefeld Landfill became operational. LMOP Industry Partners Cornerstone Environmental Group and Unison Solutions, Inc. worked with Dane County to open the first fueling station in the state that provides natural gas from a landfill. The project is the first demonstration of Cornerstone Environmental Group’s new technology, BioCNG, which converts LFG from a landfill to compressed natural gas. BioCNG can use biogas from a variety of sources other than landfills, including wastewater treatment plants and agricultural and food waste digesters. At the 14th Annual LMOP Conference, Mark Torresani from Cornerstone Environmental Group presented Biogas to Vehicle Fuel Startup and Operations (PDF) (23 pp, 1.86MB), which describes this project.

Source: Thomas Content, “Landfill Gas Being Converted to Vehicle Fuel,” Journal Sentinel, April 9, 2011.

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Since 2008, LMOP has assisted Iowa City, Iowa and LMOP Energy Partner University of Iowa, by providing technical and cost analysis to aid in the development of an LFG energy project. The Iowa City Landfill will soon be supplying LFG as a renewable energy resource to the University of Iowa's Research Park, which leases building sites and space to growing technology companies that conduct sustained research relationships with the University, which recently joined as an LMOP Partner. The LFG will be piped six miles from the Iowa City Landfill to the Research Park, where it will ultimately generate 2.8 MW of energy from two LMOP Industry Partner GE Energy – Jenbacher Gas engines to supply nearly 90 percent of the facility's electricity needs. The waste heat from the engines will be used to heat buildings within the facility. LMOP Energy Partner MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company will build, own, and operate the pipeline. In addition to this planned LFG energy project, the Research Park is installing a biomass boiler that will burn wood chips. The goal is to eventually operate the Research Park on 100 percent renewable fuel.

Source: KCRG, “University of Iowa, Iowa City Landfill Partners on Methane Gas Project,” March 27, 2011.

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The U.S. Department of Defense's Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia will start beneficially using LFG from its own on-site landfill later this year. Equipment for the project arrived in February 2011, made available through assistance from the Department of Defense's Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). The ESTCP's goal is to identify and demonstrate cost-effective technologies that address the Department of Defense's highest priority environmental requirements. LMOP Industry Partner FlexEnergy, in collaboration with LMOP Endorser Southern Research Institute, supplied two 250-kW Flex Powerstations to the base. A successful pilot program in California in 2010 was the first commercial demonstration of the Flex Powerstation, a proprietary adapted thermal oxidizer and modified gas turbine.

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LMOP Energy Partner Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provides electricity for nearly nine million people in seven southeastern states. The utility has recently signed an agreement with LMOP Industry Partner Waste Management as their first participant in TVA’s new Renewable Standard Offer initiative, which supports projects that produce between 201 kW and 20 MW of electricity. The 20-year contract, signed in January 2011, will add 4.8 MW of power to TVA’s renewable energy portfolio from Waste Management’s LFG facility located in Camden, Tennessee. The facility is scheduled to begin delivering power in September 2011 through Benton County Electric System. TVA created the Renewable Standard Offer in October 2010 as a new way to support mid-sized renewable energy projects from eligible resources (e.g., LFG, biomass, wind, or solar). The program is designed to accommodate projects, including LFG energy projects, that are too large for TVA’s Generation Partners program.

TVA’s Generation Partnership program provides technical support and incentives for the installation of renewable generation systems, now limited to 200 kW or less in size, typically for residential and small commercial customers. Two mid-sized LFG energy projects in Mississippi were accepted into this program before the new size limits took effect: Golden Triangle Regional Landfill in Starkville, Mississippi, and Three Rivers Regional Landfill in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Golden Triangle Regional Landfill, owned by LMOP Community Partner Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority, will be home to the first LFG electricity project in Mississippi. In 2009, officials installed a gas collection control system that flares the LFG. Now, the LFG will be diverted from the flare to a generator to produce energy and TVA will purchase the power created by the 999 kW-capacity generator. The project is scheduled to be operational by August 2011. The project at the Three Rivers Regional Landfill will use LFG as a fuel source to produce up to 1 MW of electricity that will be transferred through Pontotoc Electric Power Association to the electric grid. This project is scheduled to be operational in October 2011.

Sources: Tennessee Valley Authority, “TVA Signs First Renewable Standard Offer Contract,” January 25, 2011; Paul Sims, “Project to Use Landfill Gas to Generate Power,” Starkville Daily News, October 14, 2010; and Ross Reily, “Program to Use Landfill Gas for Electricity Underway,” Mississippi Business Journal, November 4, 2010.

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Greenhouse Gas Reporting Deadline Extended

The deadline for reporting calendar year 2010 greenhouse gas (GHG) data for facilities and suppliers covered by 40 CFR Part 98, including the municipal solid waste landfills source category (Subpart HH), has been extended to September 30, 2011. This extension will allow EPA to further test the system that reporters will use to submit data, and give industry the opportunity to test the tool, provide feedback, and become familiar with the tool prior to reporting. This action also extends the online registration deadline for entities required to report 2010 GHG data under the GHG Reporting Program to August 1, 2011, 60 days before the reporting deadline. If your company has already registered with EPA's Electronic GHG Reporting Tool e-GGRT, there is no need to register again.

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California

On April 13, 2011, a new California law (PDF) (64 pp, 365K) took effect that requires public utilities to source one-third of their electricity from renewable energy. Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation, which increases California's current 20 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) target in 2010 to a 33 percent RPS by December 31, 2020. LFG is an eligible renewable resource under the state's RPS. This new legislation makes California's renewables standard the highest in the United States. The measure will help to create new jobs, improve air quality, promote energy independence, and reduce GHG emissions.

California currently has 71 LFG electricity projects in place, producing nearly 297 MW. LMOP's database includes information about 37 candidate landfills in California with a total generation potential of 94 MW. If you have interest in developing an LFG energy project in the state, please contact Tom Frankiewicz (frankiewicz.thomas@epa.gov), LMOP, at 202-343-9232.

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LMOP has been active in promoting the benefits of LFG energy projects and opportunities at events throughout the country. Details from the events are highlighted on the map below. To learn where LMOP will be speaking and exhibiting next, visit LMOP's Workshop and Conferences Web page.

Text version of map data (PDF). (3 pp, 19K, About PDF)

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In January 2011, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published Using Renewable Energy Purchases to Achieve Institutional Carbon Goals: A Review of Current Practices and Considerations (PDF) (44 pp, 597K). The report compares the treatment of renewable energy under GHG reporting programs and discusses both carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates. LFG is highlighted because LFG energy projects can generate renewable energy certificates or carbon offsets from electricity generation, as well as carbon offsets from methane destruction. Some of the technical guidance reviewed includes carbon accounting for green power purchasers, carbon accounting for renewable energy system owners who are selling renewable energy certificates, and emission reduction quantification methodologies. NREL considered only those programs that offer detailed guidance on carbon accounting for renewable energy (i.e., The Climate Registry, EPA's Climate Leaders program, the Local Government Operations Protocol, and the Federal GHG Accounting and Reporting Guidance on Executive Order 13514).

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In March 2011, the American Council on Renewable Energy published a report, Renewable Energy in America (PDF) (44 pp, 4.4MB), that provides a state-by-state summary of renewable energy capacity, economic development, and policy in each of the 50 states. Each summary includes a generation capacity chart, market information, economic development indicators, resource maps, and a brief discussion of supportive policy mechanisms in the state. LFG is listed as a renewable energy resource being used by many states.

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The March 2011 issue of WasteAdvantage spotlights the Maysville-Mason County Landfill in Maysville, Kentucky, in its article “The Future of Going Green.” The county's LFG energy project went on line in late 2009, and Victoria Ludwig, LMOP Territory Manager, attended and spoke at the ribbon cutting in April 2010. The plant is owned and operated by LMOP Energy Partner East Kentucky Power Cooperative and is their sixth LFG energy project. LFG is piped from both an open landfill as well as a closed landfill to an LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar engine. The current landfill is expected to remain open until 2055, and LFG will continue to be generated well after that. Maysville-Mason County Landfill management holds regular trainings on landfill safety, makes sure to stay informed of new regulations, and looks for new ways to improve the LFG energy project.

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The Internal Revenue Service has issued Revenue Procedure 2011-26 (PDF) (28 pp, 65K), which provides guidance concerning the first-year depreciation deduction for new assets, also described as “Bonus Depreciation.” In general, the document provides guidance on the temporary expansion from 50 to 100 percent of additional first-year depreciation deduction for qualified property acquired by a taxpayer. In order to be eligible for the 100 percent Bonus Depreciation, the asset must be eligible for the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System and have a recovery period of 20 years or less, for which LFG energy projects would qualify. This doubling will help to encourage further use of renewable energy technologies, including LFG energy projects.

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Pacific Power is teaming up with Blue Sky customers to help fund installations of community-based, non-residential renewable energy projects in California, Oregon, and Washington. Pacific Power's RFP will fund eligible community-based renewable energy projects through its Blue Sky program. Renewable energy projects eligible to receive funding include biomass based on digester methane gas from landfills or animal waste, solar, and wind. The preference is for local community based projects. Projects must be installed within Pacific Power's service area (California, Oregon, and Washington) and be completed by December 31, 2011.

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Rocky Mountain Power is teaming up with Blue Sky customers to help fund installations of community-based, non-residential renewable energy projects in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Rocky Mountain Power's RFP will fund eligible community-based renewable energy projects through its Blue Sky program. Renewable energy projects eligible to receive funding include biomass based on digester methane gas from landfills or animal waste, solar, and wind. The preference is for local community based projects. Projects must be installed within Rocky Mountain Power's service area (Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming) and be completed by December 31, 2011.

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Colorado's Renewable Energy Development Team, a division of the Governor's Energy Office, is offering up to 120 hours of free technical assistance to eligible renewable energy projects, including LFG energy projects. No direct funding is available since the program's goal is to advance projects to the investor/project developer stage. To be eligible, projects must be located in Colorado and have a nameplate capacity of less than 30 MW. Local governments, non-profits, utilities, and landowners may apply. The program is funded by an ARRA grant. For more information, visit the Recharge Colorado website.

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