Dive Brief:
- A plan is being negotiated for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to purchase all gas from Waste Management's (WM) Metro landfill in Franklin, WI.
- MMSD plans to ask the district commission for approval of up to $8.3 million in spending for the construction of a gas treatment facility at the landfill. Once this gas is sent to the Jones Island sewage treatment plant, the waste heat will be used to produce Milorganite fertilizer.
- Approval from the state's Department of Natural Resources is required and could come by the end of the summer once an expansion feasibility study is reviewed. The contract between MMSD and WM is expected to be finalized by November.
Dive Insight:
This plan would more than double the amount of landfill gas going to Jones Island. Advanced Disposal Services is already providing gas from its Emerald Park Landfill—which would be blended with the WM gas—but has struggled to meet minimum requirements. Under a revised contract, the company must now provide at least $14.5 million worth of gas over the next 25 years.
WM would provide a minimum of 300,000 dekatherms per year at a minimum price of $1.50 per dekatherm. This arrangement would give WM 45% of the market price based on energy content rater than volume.
If the plan is approved, WM would no longer burn the gas in turbines at an electrical power plant on the landfill site. According to a company spokesperson, this was one of the country's first landfill gas-to-energy projects and a company called We Energies has bought the power since 1985. Because of methane's contribution to greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency has made it a priority to reduce emissions through a variety of efforts including these types of projects.
