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No good energy should go to waste.
That's true with humans, and that's true with real energy.
In this case, we're talking about methane gas generated by decomposing garbage at the Wayne Township Landfill at McElhattan.
The landfill operator, the Clinton County Solid Waste Authority (CCSWA), is poised with partners to take on a $15 million, methane gas-capture project so methane gas can be sold to UGI Utilities, the region's natural gas provider.
"Hopefully we are flowing gas by April 1," Landfill Manager Jay Alexander told The Express for a story published last week.
"We will be able to shut our flare down, then (a partner) will be able to bring their system up to full speed and deal with the gas and destroy the gas for their process through their thermal oxidizer and flare."
The Clinton County Commissioners are investigating a program called Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, or C-PACE, to support the project aimed as sustaining a green energy resource.
We certainly recall a time when the landfill sold methane gas to Jersey Shore Steel Co. in South Avis via a pipeline.
That ended in 2015-16, mostly because of economics. Natural gas prices then were very, very low. For many years the steel plant had run two shifts and natural gas prices were higher.
"As things slowed and natural gas got cheap, CCSWA was losing $10,000 per month to send gas to Jersey Shore Steel, via our costs to chill, compress and send down the pipeline, which all got shut off and the gas went direct to our flare to control the gas since then. It does not make sense to be flaring when we could do something productive, but it was way out of being economically productive," Alexander told us.
The authority looked at selling methane gas to First Quality for electric generation for its various plants in the nearby Clinton County Industrial Park but the economics didn't work.
In 2018, Alexander said CCSWA worked with Energy Power partners to do a co-generation project and sell electric to the grid.
Various challenges prevented that.
In 2019, Alexander said the CCSWA worked with Mid Atlantic Renewable Group to convert landfill gas into clean transportation fuel. The Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) was to be used to fuel heavy trucks, buses and refuse trucks capable of running on natural gas.
"We were going to use our compressed natural gas (CNG) station and switch from natural gas to renewable landfill gas. At the 11th hour, they couldn't get funding for the project," he recalled.
Fast forward to December 2021 and the CCSWA entered into the current agreement with MAS Energy LLC to do a renewable landfill gas project. MAS sold to Terreva Renewables, which is a subsidiary of the CIM Group.
"The MAS staff that we worked with through out this whole process went with the deal, so we have had a very smooth transition. This project will take all of the landfill gas generated from both of CCSWA's landfills (on either side of Route 220), scrub the gas to remove any and all impurities, compress and ship through a 1.5-mile pipeline to the UGI pipeline in Avis," he explained.
"Terreva will pay UGI for transportation of the gas and Terreva enters into multiple agreements for off takers of renewable gas. This also qualifies for renewable tax credits called RINs. Terreva will have invested north of $26 million to bring this project together.
"The CCSWA's initial target date for sending renewable gas was last October, "but supply chain issues has us backed up to the end of February-mid March of this year," Alexander added.
"Needless to say we are very happy this project is coming together and feel strongly it will be very beneficial to both companies and the environment," he concluded.
Beyond using the methane gas to heat homes, this project will generate revenue for the CCSWA-Wayne Township Landfill.
Landfill operational costs have risen with inflation, we know. But could it be that the additional revenue be used -- at some point -- to at least slightly reverse the significant fee and rate increases imposed at WTL this year?
Who knows.
It's wishful thinking.
As we said, no good energy should be wasted.
Waste producing energy is exactly what our area -- and our planet -- needs.