The working landscape
Landfill gas to energy
Landfill gas (LFG)—largely methane, with 23 times the global warming potential of CO2—is produced by the breakdown of putrescible materials within buried waste. Unchecked, the gas pressure builds within the landfill and ultimately releases into the atmosphere. With the Orange County, North Carolina, landfill nearing peak gas production, AEI participated in the design of a 1,000 kW LFG power generation system. As an alternative fuel, the LFG-fired generator will support the University of North Carolina’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality while creating an additional revenue source for the county.
AEI’s contributions focus on: the LFG collection system, including LFG treatment, conditioning, and compressor system; a pipeline from the landfill to the UNC generator; and, the sound-isolating generator substation itself. Presenting routing path options and developing property surveys to establish easements and encroachment agreements, AEI is also assisting with waste and air permitting, and Special Use and Zoning Compliance Permits. Should carbon credits be immediately “bankable” for future use, the destruction of fugitive methane from the landfill (equivalent to 600,000 metric tons of CO2) would enable Carolina North —UNC’s expansion campus—to remain carbon neutral for approximately the next three decades.
