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methane collection, Hartland landfill, Victoria BC |
Ever wonder what happens to your garbage once it leaves your home? If you live in the Lower Mainland, it may end up at the City of Vancouver Landfill in Delta. And, as it decomposes, its gaseous by-products may be used to generate electricity. As garbage decomposes, it emits landfill gas (LFG) - roughly 50% methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. . |
Until recently, the Vancouver Landfill has collected, then "flared" or burned the LFG, releasing the less potent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
Vancouver Landfill Gas Project
IPP Maxim Power Corp. saw an opportunity. "We've entered into an agreement with the City of Vancouver to purchase the LFG," explains Rick Hopp, Maxim's Senior Vice-President, Business Development. "Instead of flaring it, the gas is cooled, compressed, then transported through a three-kilometre pipeline to our generating facility, where is it burned in reciprocating engines to generate electricity." As a further benefit, the heat released from the engines is used to provide hot water heating to the CanAgro tomato greenhouse next door. This means that CanAgro will rely less on fossil fuels to heat the greenhouse.
This innovative project received the Federation of Canadian Municipalities - CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Award last May.
The Vancouver LFG project began generating electricity in early September. Initially, it will feed about 40 gigawatt hours of electricity per year into BC Hydro's grid. However, this amount will soon be increasing, as Maxim will be expanding the facility and selling an additional 15 GWh/year to BC Hydro.
Hartland Landfill Green Power Project
The Hartland Landfill green power project, near Victoria, went into operation on February 10, 2004. It was developed and is owned by Maxim Power Corp., which also owns the Vancouver Landfill Gas Project in Delta. The project will feed 12,274-megawatthours of electricity per year into BC Hydro's grid, with a peak capacity of 1.6 megawatts.
At the landfill, gas produced by the decomposing garbage is cooled, compressed and transported to a generating facility, where it is conditioned and then utilized in a high-efficiency 3520 Caterpillar landfill gas generator set provided by Finning Power Systems of Vancouver. The project qualifies as green because there are no net new emissions. "The gas would be flared off anyway, but instead it provides the benefit of being used to generate electricity," says Rick Hopp, Maxim's Senior Vice-President, Business Development.
The Hartland Landfill project brought together diverse partners. The site is owned by the Capital Regional District (CRD), and BC Buildings Corporation retains the green marketing attributes and rights for the first 8,760 megawatt-hours of electricity generated every year for the first 10 years. BC Hydro receives the green rights for all power above 8,760 megawatt-hours per year in the first 10 years and for all power after that. In addition, BC Hydro owns all off-site emissions credits for the project.
The project will indirectly offset approximately 6,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, while producing enough power to meet the power needs of at least 1,600 homes.
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