Archaea Energy, Waste Connections open RNG plant in Pennsylvania

Archaea Energy, a subsidiary of BP, and The Woodlands, Texas-based Waste Connections Inc. have opened their first renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Pennsylvania. The plant is adjacent to the Bethlehem Landfill in Lower Saucon Township, which came online in July and is owned by a Waste Connections subsidiary.

RELATED: Archaea Energy, Republic Services open first RNG plant in ‘landmark’ partnership

“We are safely and efficiently scaling up at pace and building momentum with this new plant in Bethlehem,” Archaea Energy CEO Starlee Sykes says. “Archaea has brought six plants online to date in 2024, and we’re proud to continue to bring our commitment to capture landfill emissions and provide customers with lower-emission, lower-carbon fuel [in] the Keystone State.”

The Bethlehem Landfill plant can process up to 3,500 standard cubic feet of landfill gas per minute (scfm) into RNG, which is enough gas to heat more than 14,000 homes annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Gas Energy Benefits Calculator.

RELATED: Virginia landfill partners with Archaea for RNG plant

The partnership between Archaea and Waste Connections spans several years. In addition to the new RNG plant in Pennsylvania, Archaea owns and operates RNG plants adjacent to landfills owned by Waste Connections in Nebraska, New York and Oklahoma. The companies also have plants that convert landfill gas to electricity in Washington, Colorado and Oregon.

Waste Today has reached out to Waste Connections for comment.