Dive summary:
- A landfill's gas-to-energy system in Watauga County, N.C., has been recognized by a local waste authority as a good blueprint for similar projects across the state.
- Methane from the Watauga landfill fuels two retrofitted automotive engines that create electricity, which is then used by landfill operations including offices, a transfer station, swap shop, baler, maintenance shop and methane pump.
- Jason Hoyle, a research analyst with Appalachian State University Energy Center works with similar projects across the state and says set-ups such as this can be a cost-effective way to harness energy that often goes to waste.
From the article:
Hoyle, at the Landfill Methane Outreach Program Conference and Project Expo earlier this year in Baltimore, spoke about methods used by the county to create a cost-effective program to harness the energy that was once flared off at the small, closed landfill.
Hoyle, in his position with the university, works with counties around North Carolina to develop renewable energy projects.
But making the economics of a landfill gas project work at a small facility can be challenging. Watauga County, however, kept costs low enough to make the development economically feasible. ...
