vxEPA
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Office
Office of Air and Radiation
(6202J)
430-F-01-001
January 2001
LANDFILL METHANE
OUTREACH PROGRAM
SMALL LANDFILLS=UNTAPPED ENERGY POTENTIAL
There are hundreds of municipal
solid waste landfills with less than
three million tons of waste-in-place
across the nation. These smaller landfills
are often overlooked as candidates for
landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE), yet in
many cases they offer tremendous energy
potential. More than half of the nation's
approximately 500 operating LFGTE pro-
jects are small landfills that have captured
this untapped energy potential through
innovative project design, reaping financial
and environmental benefits for the com-
munities they serve. Many more small
landfills may also be good candidates for
LFG use.
Small Challenges = Big Opportunities
While project financing and finding
suitable end users are challenges
common to LFG use projects of all sizes,
they may be particularly difficult barriers
for small landfills to overcome. Operators
can address these challenges by selecting
Benefits of LFG Use
to the Community
Turns a landfill into a good neighbor:
O Reduces unpleasant odors
O Eliminates explosion threats
Helps the environment:
O Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
and improves local air quality
O Produces a renewable energy
resource
Offers economic advantages:
O Uses a local energy source that
would otherwise be wasted
O Saves fuel costs
O Creates new jobs through project
development
from a variety of innovative options for
end uses and energy recovery. Since min-
imizing the cost of transporting LFG
energy to users is critical to a project's
economic feasibility, local use of LFG
may be the most attractive option for
landfills with less than three million tons
of waste-in-place. On-site or nearby use
of LFG in facility buildings, greenhouses,
leachate evaporators, and other niche
applications are often the most finan-
cially beneficial.
Nearby municipal and private build-
ings, such as recreational facilities,
wastewater treatment plants, schools,
and corrections facilities are typically
good candidates for LFG use, again
because of the low cost of transporting
the LFG energy to the end user. The ideal
situation is to find a single end user that
will use the LFG year-round.
Creative opportunities for landfill gas
use can be identified through partnerships
between landfill operators and communi-
ties, state agencies, project developers, and
end users. These partnerships can also
open the door to sources of funding and
support for project development and assist
in maximizing the benefits of LFG use to
the community.
Small Projects, Big Successes
All regions of the United States have
successful LFG use projects. The follow-
ing four examples illustrate innovative
approaches that have proven effective for
LFG collection and end use at landfills
with less than three million tons of
waste-in-place.
Pennsylvania Landfill's
Problem Evaporates
The Southern Alleghenies Landfill in
Davidsville, Pennsylvania (2.6 million tons
of waste-in-place) had a problem: The
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leachate produced at the landfill required
costly treatment and disposal. As a solu-
tion, the landfill operators employed a tech-
nology that uses the heat generated by
burning LFG to evaporate leachate on-site.
By using LFG as a fuel, the landfill treats
leachate economically, with no further
treatment required. A study comparing the
cost of the project to the potential benefits
confirmed that an LFG-fueled leachate
evaporation project offered the greatest
benefits to the landfill and community.
Within 24 months of identifying the
technology, the landfill had installed a
leachate evaporation system. In addition to
eliminating the leachate, the project turns a
profit. If facility expansion occurs in the
future, adding an evaporator to the system
would allow more capacity without modifi-
cation of the treatment permit.
New York Landfill (Jets Cool Results
The city of Saratoga Springs, New York,
took an innovative approach by combin-
ing an environmental benefit with a
Steps for Developing
an LFG Use Project
O Estimate LFG Recovery Potential
and Perform Initial Assessment or
Feasibility Study
O Evaluate Project Economics
O Establish Project Structure
O Draft Development Contract
O Assess Financing Options
O Negotiate Energy Sales Contract
O Secure Permits and Approvals
O Contract for Engineering,
Procurement and Construction,
and Operation and Maintenance
Services
O Install Project and Start-Up
Operation
favorite winter pastime. The city's
Department of Public Works has been
operating a cogeneration LFG use project
at its Weible Avenue Landfill (2.1 million
tons of waste-in-place) since 1997. Owned
and operated by the city, the cogeneration
system uses LFG generated by the landfill
to produce electricity and heat for the
city-owned skating rink, which is located
across the street from the landfill.
A feasibility study indicated that the
landfill would generate enough LFG over
a 15-year period to supply at least 85 per-
cent of the electricity needs of the rink
and 100 percent of its thermal require-
ments. During this period, the city antici-
pates saving approximately $50,000 per
year on the ice skating rink's utility bills.
Greenery and Crafts Benefit
from a North Carolina Landfill
The Blue Ridge Resource Conservation
and Development Council, which repre-
sents seven North Carolina counties,
assembled an 80-member task force to
identify end users for the LFG at the
Yancy/Mitchell Landfill, which has just
over 560,000 tons of waste-in-place. The
task force decided to use the LFG in an
innovative manner to heat and power on-
site greenhouses and a craft studio. The
three facilities provide an unique eco-
nomic development opportunity for the
community.
A variety of organizations funded the
project. A local community foundation
provided an initial grant, and the rest of
the funding, totaling $800,000, came from
several other sources, including the
state's Department of Environmental and
Natural Resources, a community founda-
tion, the North Carolina Technological
Development Authority, U.S. EPA, the
U.S. Forest Service, and several private
foundations.
New Mexico Landfill Uses
Innovative Microturbine Technology
Albuquerque, New Mexico, was facing
a challenge not unlike those tackled by
many cities-LFG was detected escaping
from the city's closed Los Angeles
Landfill (2.8 million tons of waste-in-
place). The city looked to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's
Landfill Methane Outreach Program
(LMOP) for assistance in finding a solu-
tion that would not only prevent the
migration of LFG, but also would use the
LFG as an energy source.
LMOP arranged for the city and a local
company, Honeywell Power Systems, Inc., to
collaborate on a pilot test of Honeywell's new
LFG- fueled 75 kilowatt microturbine. The
microturbine is a compact power source that
allows businesses and organizations to gen-
erate electrical power at the point of use. The
city's successful test demonstrated that
strategic partnerships enable government
and industry to work together to implement
sustainable environmental solutions. The
city, Honeywell Power Systems, and the
LMOP unveiled the unit at the Albuquerque
International Hot Air Balloon Festival, an
annual event that attracts more than two
million visitors. The partners used the event
to profile the city's commitment to the envi-
ronment and its citizens.
For More Information
The LMOP is a voluntary program that
helps landfill owners, project developers,
and communities develop landfill gas use
projects. The LMOP can offer technical
assistance, resource documents, and
other tools to help landfill owners and
operators realize their facility's LFG use
potential. For more information, call 888-
782-7957 or visit the LMOP website at
www.epa.gov/lmop.
1 million tons Waste-in-Place (WIP)
= 1.1 MW or 60,000 mmBtu/yr1
and ;'s equ;Va/enf to2
9,600 cars taken off the road; or
13,000 acres of forests planted; or
210 railcars of coal not used; or
100,000 barrels of oil not used
3 million tons Waste-in-Place (WIP)
= 3.8 MW or 200,000 mmBtu/yr
and ;'s equivalent to
32,000 cars taken off the road; or
44,000 acres of forests planted; or
720 railcars of coal not used; or
340,000 barrels of oil not used
1. Million British Thermal Units
2. Because the benefits differ slightly between electricity and direct use, the above estimates represent an average of the two.
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