Methane from city landfill may help power Lincoln
Some day, thousands of Lincoln homes could be powered by methane, a gas produced by decomposing garbage buried deep in a landfill.
The Public Works and Utilities Department is working on a project to extract methane from the Bluff Road Landfill and find some beneficial uses for the gas, including the generation of electricity.
In April, the city asked companies to submit bids for engineering services to help it evaluate and develop such a renewable energy project, which would be a first for Lincoln. Four companies responded: HDR Engineering Inc., Omaha; Wenck Associates, Inc., Maple Plain, Minn.; Aquaterra Environmental Solutions, Omaha; and Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, Mo.
Public Utilities Administrator Steve Masters said the city selected HDR to analyze the technical and economic feasibility. He said negotiations are under way and a contract could be signed in the next couple of weeks. Typically, methane is mined through a series of extraction wells in a landfill.
“We will work with them to evaluate what options exist and what potential there might be in making use of the methane,” he said.
Once the feasibility studies are done, the city will evaluate them and ask organizations, companies and other interested parties to submit proposals for projects, possibly by this fall, Masters said. If all goes according to plan, the city could have a project up and running within two years.
“We are concerned with costs. ... It has to meet an economic test,” Masters said.
The city has been talking with Lincoln Electric System staff about using the methane to generate electricity. But LES could be one of several potential users for the gas. Masters said methane also could be used to heat a building or in a manufacturing process.
In fact, he said, it may be more advantageous to the city to find a private company to use the methane. That’s because a private company would be eligible to receive federal renewable energy incentives, something LES would not qualify for because it’s publicly owned.
Masters said the city also is considering using a methane gas project to obtain “carbon credits” and sell them to companies that need such credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions. The revenue, he said, could postpone a rate increase for the city’s landfill operation.
The 171-acre Bluff Road Landfill opened in 1988. Garbage fill depth ranges from 60 to 130 feet. As of Aug. 31, 2007, it contained 5.3 million tons of buried solid waste. The landfill is scheduled to close in 2029, when it reaches full capacity.
Masters said the city looked at using the old landfill north of 48th and Superior streets, now known as Boosalis Park, as a landfill gas operation. However, he said, there’s not enough garbage buried in that landfill to have a cost-effective methane project.
Lincoln won’t be the first municipality to generate electricity from methane harvested from a landfill.
The Omaha Public Power District has been doing so since 2002. Its Elk City Station, adjacent to the Douglas County Landfill, produces 6.4 megawatts, enough electricity to meet the energy needs of 4,000 homes.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
The Public Works and Utilities Department is working on a project to extract methane from the Bluff Road Landfill and find some beneficial uses for the gas, including the generation of electricity.
In April, the city asked companies to submit bids for engineering services to help it evaluate and develop such a renewable energy project, which would be a first for Lincoln. Four companies responded: HDR Engineering Inc., Omaha; Wenck Associates, Inc., Maple Plain, Minn.; Aquaterra Environmental Solutions, Omaha; and Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, Mo.
Public Utilities Administrator Steve Masters said the city selected HDR to analyze the technical and economic feasibility. He said negotiations are under way and a contract could be signed in the next couple of weeks. Typically, methane is mined through a series of extraction wells in a landfill.
“We will work with them to evaluate what options exist and what potential there might be in making use of the methane,” he said.
Once the feasibility studies are done, the city will evaluate them and ask organizations, companies and other interested parties to submit proposals for projects, possibly by this fall, Masters said. If all goes according to plan, the city could have a project up and running within two years.
“We are concerned with costs. ... It has to meet an economic test,” Masters said.
The city has been talking with Lincoln Electric System staff about using the methane to generate electricity. But LES could be one of several potential users for the gas. Masters said methane also could be used to heat a building or in a manufacturing process.
In fact, he said, it may be more advantageous to the city to find a private company to use the methane. That’s because a private company would be eligible to receive federal renewable energy incentives, something LES would not qualify for because it’s publicly owned.
Masters said the city also is considering using a methane gas project to obtain “carbon credits” and sell them to companies that need such credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions. The revenue, he said, could postpone a rate increase for the city’s landfill operation.
The 171-acre Bluff Road Landfill opened in 1988. Garbage fill depth ranges from 60 to 130 feet. As of Aug. 31, 2007, it contained 5.3 million tons of buried solid waste. The landfill is scheduled to close in 2029, when it reaches full capacity.
Masters said the city looked at using the old landfill north of 48th and Superior streets, now known as Boosalis Park, as a landfill gas operation. However, he said, there’s not enough garbage buried in that landfill to have a cost-effective methane project.
Lincoln won’t be the first municipality to generate electricity from methane harvested from a landfill.
The Omaha Public Power District has been doing so since 2002. Its Elk City Station, adjacent to the Douglas County Landfill, produces 6.4 megawatts, enough electricity to meet the energy needs of 4,000 homes.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
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