Planning for LMOP’s 15th Annual Conference and Project Expo is well underway! The conference is taking place on January 17-19, 2012, and will again be held in Baltimore, Maryland. Please join LMOP for this two-day information-packed event during which attendees can learn about the latest technologies, visit vendor booths, catch up with colleagues and friends, and make new contacts!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. If you are interested, please fill out and return the Sponsorship Opportunity Form. Please note that exhibit space is now closed. If you are not on the List of Exhibitors and you want to reserve a place on our waitlist, please complete the Exhibit Waitlist Sign-up Form and return it as soon as possible. You will be notified if space becomes available in the order that your waitlist form was received.

An agenda will be available soon. Check the conference website for details.

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During the past few months, many LFG energy projects have become operational. Some of these exciting projects are highlighted below.

Florida

In May 2011, the LFG energy project at the Naples SLF Collier County Landfill in Collier County, Florida, became operational. The project is a public-private partnership between the county and LMOP Industry Partner Waste Management. Waste Management covered the cost of building the facility and pays the county for the LFG. Waste Management sells the electricity to Florida Power & Light to distribute to its customers. During the first two months of operations, the project produced more than 3.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity.

Source: NBC-2, “County Cashing in on Gas to Energy Facility,” June 24, 2011.

Ohio

On August 15, 2011, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at LMOP Industry Partner Waste Management’s South Suburban Landfill in Glenford, Ohio, to celebrate the opening of Ohio’s newest LFG energy project. The project, designed to generate 6.4 MW of green power, initially is producing 5.6 MW, which is sold to South Central Power and American Electric Power to distribute to their customers.

Source: Waste Business Journal, “WM Unveils 6.4 MW Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project in Ohio,” August 16, 2011.

Pennsylvania

On July 27, 2011, Chrin Brothers, Inc. held a dedication ceremony for its LFG energy project at the Chrin Landfill in Easton, Pennsylvania. Chrin Brothers collaborated with LMOP Energy Partner PPL to create Glendon Green Energy Park, a large-scale renewable energy park. The facility contains two LMOP engines manufactured by LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar, which together will produce 3.2 MW of electricity. A division of PPL Renewable Energy, Millennium Design Builders designed, built, and operates the plant. Currently, the energy produced is being sent to the grid, but PPL and Chrin Brothers have future plans to use the energy to power businesses located in the park. To help pay for the project, Chrin Brothers received a grant for $1 million provided by the Pennsylvania Economic Development Authority.

Source: Waste Business Journal, “Chrin Brothers Opens New Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project in Easton PA,” July 28, 2011.

South Carolina

On July 18, 2011, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for a newly operational LFG energy project at the Wellford Landfill, owned by LMOP Community Partner Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Spartanburg County leaders attended the ceremony, along with representatives from LMOP Energy Partners Milliken & Co. and Lockhart Power. The project has the capacity to produce 61 million kWh of electricity per year. Milliken is buying the LFG from the county and transporting it from the landfill via a 6.1-mile pipeline to its Dewey Chemical Plant in Inman, South Carolina. The LFG powers three boilers at the plant, which is expected to provide all of the plant’s energy needs.

Source: Trevor Anderson, GoUpstate.com, “$4 Million Gas-to-Energy Program to Fuel Milliken Plant in Inman,” July 18, 2011.

Tennessee

On August 22, 2011, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate a newly operational LFG energy project at Bi-County Solid Waste Authority’s Bi-County Landfill in Woodlawn, Tennessee. Victoria Ludwig, Territory Manager from LMOP, spoke at the ceremony about the environmental benefits of the LFG energy project, including eliminating approximately 2,000 tons of methane annually. Bi-County Gas Producers worked cooperatively with LMOP Energy Partner Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and local utility Cumberland EMC to develop the project. The LFG produced at the landfill fuels an LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar G3516A engine with a gear box, which is the first engine of this type to run on LFG in the United States. The engine generates 999 kW of green power, which is sold to TVA through Cumberland EMC.

Source: Brian Eason,“Gas Collection Pays off at Montgomery County Landfill,” Leaf Chronicle, August 22, 2011.

On August 26, 2011, another ribbon cutting was held at a landfill in Tennessee, this time to celebrate the new LFG energy project at the Alcoa Landfill in Friendsville, Tennessee. Victoria Ludwig, Territory Manager from LMOP, spoke at this event as well about the benefits of LFG energy projects. Alcoa Gas Producers worked cooperatively with LMOP Energy Partner TVA and Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative to develop the project. The LFG is used to fuel an LMOP Industry Partner Caterpillar G3516A engine, which is the second one of its type to include a gear box and run on LFG in the country. The engine generates 999 kW of green power, which is sold to TVA through Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative, Friendsville’s local utility.

Source:  Lance Coleman, “New Conversion System Creates Power from Landfill Gas,” Blount Today, August 29, 2011.

Texas

In May 2011, an LFG energy project owned by LMOP Industry Partner Montauk Energy Capital at the McKinney Landfill in McKinney, Texas, became operational. Raytheon Company is acquiring the power through Noble Americas Energy Solutions LLC as part of its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10 percent by 2015 from a 2008 baseline. Five Raytheon sites in Texas will benefit from the green power supplied by the project.

Source: PR Newswire, “Raytheon to Use Green Power from McKinney Landfill for North Texas Sites,” April 19, 2011.

Wisconsin

In August 2011, LMOP Industry Partner Veolia ES Solid Waste announced the opening of its newest LFG energy project at its Hickory Meadows Landfill in Appleton, Wisconsin. The project includes a 4.8-MW electrical generation facility with three reciprocating engine generator sets. Veolia will sell all of the power generated by the facility, along with the renewable energy credits associated with the energy output, to Wisconsin Public Service. This project will help Wisconsin Public Service meet its renewable portfolio standard requirement while also helping Wisconsin achieve its goal of supplying 10 percent of its retail energy needs from renewable resources by 2015.

Source: Waste Management World, “Landfill Gas to Energy Project Fires Up in Wisconsin,” August 17, 2011.

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In June 2011, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York Public Service Commission announced the award of $191 million in funding for renewable energy projects in New York. The funding comes from a state fund set up to encourage renewable energy projects and to help utilities meet a 30 percent renewable portfolio goal by 2015. Seven LFG energy projects were among those that received funding. The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) Landfill in Rodman, New York, is one of the projects that will receive an average rate of $22.01 per MWh of energy production. The DANC facility produces 4.8 MW of electricity that is sold to the grid.

Source: NYSERDA, “Governor Cuomo Announces $191 Million in Project Awards to Increase Renewable Energy in New York State,” June 2, 2011.

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In July 2011, BMW's North American manufacturing facility in Greer, South Carolina, announced that it is examining the feasibility of a new project in which LFG would be converted into hydrogen. Since 2003, BMW's South Carolina facility has received more than 50 percent of its energy needs from an LFG energy project using LFG from the nearby Palmetto Landfill. In 2006, the facility expanded its LFG energy project to also fuel its paint shop operations, which helped to earn BMW an LMOP Energy End User Partner of the Year award. In 2009, the company invested $12 million into its LFG program to further improve overall efficiency. Currently, the facility is expanding its use of LFG again and assessing both the economic and technical feasibility of converting LFG into hydrogen. If feasible, the follow-up phases of this project will focus on constructing the infrastructure necessary for using hydrogen to fuel the company's entire fleet of material handling equipment.

Source: BMW, “BMW Manufacturing Announces Study to Convert Landfill Gas to Hydrogen,” July 25, 2011.

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U.S. EPA, The Climate Registry, The Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and The Association of Climate Change Officers are jointly sponsoring a national awards program to recognize exemplary organizational and individual leadership in response to climate change. The awards program was created to help showcase voluntary action taken to address climate and energy issues. The program will recognize innovative and sustainable leadership in GHG emissions management and emissions reduction.

Source: Association of Climate Change Officers, “The Climate Registry, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Association of Climate Change Officers Announce Partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Jointly Administer New National Climate Awards Program,” May 17, 2011.

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In June 2011, the Climate Action Reserve released its latest version of the Landfill Project Protocol. The Landfill Project Protocol Version 4.0 updates guidance on how to quantify and report GHG emission reductions associated with installing LFG collection and destruction systems. Specifically, some of the changes that are in version 4.0 include a modified start date definition, new size threshold added to the Performance Standard Test for LFG energy projects, and clarified language regarding pilot or temporary flares.

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Federal agents uncovered a case in which two men defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of more than $30 million through a complex tax credits scheme. The case centers on an IRS provision, which allows producers of fuels from nonconventional sources to claim a tax credit when they sell the fuel to unrelated third parties. The people involved came up with a plan to sell LFG from landfills in Illinois, New York, Ohio, Connecticut, and Puerto Rico. One of the sites was not an actual landfill while the others did not have infrastructure for an LFG energy facility. The defendants claimed the tax credits for the sale of the LFG from those landfills, which ultimately never took place. Both defendants were found guilty in June 2011.

Source: John Woodrow Cox, “$30M IRS Tax Fraud Trial gets Under Way,” Waste Management World, June 9, 2011.

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In the past, technologies to convert LFG to vehicle fuel were not as cost-competitive as they are today, which meant a slow start for these types of projects. Recently though, more projects are coming on line as the costs to purify methane and convert or build vehicles to operate on biofuels have decreased. Incentives and grant funding for biofuel projects have also greatly contributed to the uptick in the number of these projects on line and in the planning stages. Additionally, environmental benefits such as the reduction of GHG emissions and improvement of local air quality are making these projects more desirable. These projects can also help states meet low-carbon fuel standards as well as the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.

One recently developed, successful project is the Altamont Landfill Resource and Recovery Facility in Livermore, California, which went on line in 2009. LMOP Industry Partners Linde LLC and Waste Management received an LMOP award for the development of this high-tech, high-Btu fuel plant at which LFG was initially converted into liquefied natural gas to fuel 300 garbage trucks. Since then, this project has expanded, and in July 2011 Waste Management announced the addition of its 1,000th natural gas truck to its fleet.

In addition to liquefied natural gas, communities are making use of compressed natural gas derived from LFG as well. The Spring 2011 Gasette highlighted a project owned by LMOP Community Partner Dane County, Wisconsin, in which the county is fueling its vehicles with compressed natural gas produced from LFG at the Rodefeld Landfill.

Beginning in 2012, waste trucks operating at the St. Landry Parish Landfill in Washington, Louisiana, will be able to refuel with compressed natural gas produced from LFG at the landfill. The state received a grant through the EmPower Louisiana Transportation Efficiency and Alternative Fuels Program that will help fund construction of the facility.

Sources: Waste Management, “Waste Management Adds 1000th Truck to Natural Gas Fleet (PDF),” (2 pp, 117K) July 12, 2011; NGV Journal, “Louisiana’s Garbage Fleet to Run on Landfill Methane,” July 28, 2011.

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Details of events attended by LMOP 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, 29K, About PDF)

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In June 2011, EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards released a guidance document entitled “Available and Emerging Technologies for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Municipal Solid Waste Landfills” (PDF) (28 pp, 250K). This document provides information on currently available control techniques and measures to mitigate GHG emissions from the municipal solid waste landfill sector, with the goal of helping state and local permitting authorities identify the best available control technologies. This paper is one of several “white papers” released by EPA in an effort to better inform agencies on methods to mitigate GHG emissions from various industrial sectors.

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The May 2011 issue of Environmental Magazine included an article about environmental benefits of LFG recovery entitled “Putting Landfill Gas to Good Use.” It discussed the high-Btu LFG energy project at the 2,200-acre Fresh Kills Landfill in New York. Once the largest landfill in the world, receiving up to 29,000 tons per day of New York City’s waste, Fresh Kills Landfill generates 10 million cubic feet of LFG daily, which is converted to 5 million standard cubic feet of high-Btu gas. Chris Godlove, LMOP Territory Manager, was interviewed for the article and provided details on the growing number of landfills utilizing LFG for energy use. New York City receives approximately $11 million a year from the sale of the LFG.

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In May 2011, the International Energy Agency released Co-Generation and Renewables: Solutions for a Low-Carbon Energy Future (PDF) (35 pp, 1.8 MB), which documents some of the complementary aspects of using combined heat and power (CHP) as well as renewable energy sources, including LFG. The paper emphasizes the stand-alone benefits of each technology as well as addresses how, taken together, renewables and CHP make a strong case for low-carbon energy solutions. It also discusses the need for greater attention to the topic of heat recovery in the energy debate, and it supports the implementation of appropriate policy incentives for both CHP and renewables.

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In May 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs. Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to support electricity production from renewable resources such as LFG. Using information provided by utilities, NREL developed “Top 10” rankings of utility green power programs for 2010 in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, the percentage of customer participation, green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales, and the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources. According to NREL, more than 850 utilities across the United States offer green power programs and green power sales from utility programs exceeded 6 million MWh in 2010. EPA’s Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that supports the organizational procurement of green power, helps to recognize these organizations that are taking advantage of the utilities offering green power programs.

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MSW Management’s July-August 2011 issue featured an article, “Landfill Energy Farm,” which highlights Lancaster County and Turkey Hill Dairy, a 2006 LMOP Project of the Year winner located in Conestoga, Pennsylvania. The article discusses the renewable energy efforts made by LMOP Energy Partner PPL Renewable Energy (PPLRE), Turkey Hill Dairy, and LMOP Community Partner Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority. Renewable energy initiatives began in 2005, when the authority partnered with PPLRE to install a voluntary LFG energy facility at its Frey Farm Landfill.  The success of their first joint venture quickly solidified the partners’ desire to work cooperatively on future renewable energy endeavors, and in October 2010, Southcentral Pennsylvania’s first commercial-scale wind project was installed. The wind turbines are located on the landfill and produce nearly 8 million kWh of electricity annually.

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In August 2011, the Environmental Leader released information on a new engine manufactured by LMOP Industry Partner GE Energy’s Waukesha gas engines. The new 1-MW Waukesha APG1000 gas engine can utilize a broad variety of biogases, including biogas from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and agricultural waste. The Waukesha unit’s expanded biogas capabilities include modifications to the combustion chamber, a new spark plug design, and a new fuel control system that simplifies engine start-up and operation. The engine’s greater fuel tolerances allow it to handle fluctuations in the thermal quality of the biogas with little or no manual intervention.

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The NYSERDA has issued a Program Opportunity Notice for Distributed Generation as Combined Heat and Power (CHP). NYSERDA is looking for proposals to support the installation and demonstration of CHP systems at facilities in New York. The CHP systems installed under this program are intended to produce both electricity and useful thermal energy throughout the design life of the installed equipment. LFG is an eligible renewable energy source that can be used to power the CHP systems. NYSERDA will provide 30 percent to 50 percent of the total project cost up to $1,000,000 per competitively selected project.

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The County of Maui, Hawaii, has issued an RFP to develop an LFG energy project at the Central Maui Landfill located in Puunene, Hawaii. The county is looking for a responsible, qualified developer to create an LFG energy project. The RFP may be obtained at the County of Maui Department of Finance’s Purchasing Division.

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