Originally published in March 2009
A number of recent announcements demonstrate that the amount of
energy being generated from landfill gas continues to
increase.
The Todfills landfill site in Bishops Auckland stopped receiving
waste in 2007 and will now be used to generate power. Two
containerised landfill gas-powered engine generator sets will be
installed at the edge of the site, each generating around 1,000kW
of electricity - enough to power up to 4,000 homes. The project is
a collaboration between Premier Waste Management, CLP Envirogas and
Northern Electric.
Two existing landfill gas facilities, run by Viridor, will soon
increase their production of energy by installing additional power
generating equipment. The current capacity at Heathfield, near
Kingsteignton, is 5.86 MW. This will be increased to 8.50 MW. At
Braodpath, near Uffculme, an extra 1.75 MW of electricity will be
generated by a new engine, taking the total capacity of the site to
4.75 MW.
Biffa also announced recently that it is changing its focus from
traditional waste collection to energy from waste. Alongside other
technologies, such as Anaerobic Digestion, Biffa plan to generate
power from landfill gas. The company has 30 landfill sites and 74
million cubic metres of consented void. It already has the capacity
to generate 115 megawatts of electricity from landfill gas and has
no plans to sell any of its landfill sites.
Landfill gas is formed through the decomposition of waste in
landfill sites. The waste goes through several phases of
decomposition before carbon dioxide and, predominantly, methane are
produced. The volatility of these gases, and the risk of explosion,
means that the resultant gas has to be extracted and flared in any
event. In a landfill gas project this gas is used instead to power
a generator.
Production of power through landfill will be less profitable now
that the Renewable Obligation Order 2009 has come into effect, as
the amount of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) that can be
claimed for each mega-watt of power generated has been reduced.
However, since the gas has to be extracted as a necessary part of
the operation or aftercare of a landfill site, creating energy from
it is still a beneficial use of an already existing resource.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
