Construction Starts on a $30M Landfill Gas Facility in Indiana

A new facility to convert landfill gas to renewable natural gas at the Prairie View Landfill is under construction now. The landfill is located in Wyatt, Indiana, in St. Joseph County, and is owned by Waste Management. Kinder Morgan, an energy infrastructure company, is behind the $30 million project. The facility will be able to process 4.3 million cubic feet of gas per day once fully operational, which could happen by fall 2023.

The county’s Economic Development Executive Director, Bill Schalliol, commented that this is a significant investment. “We really see this as a great opportunity and [it] could be a catalyst for other growth in that area,” he said.

The nearby Elkhart County Landfill has an operational facility for producing renewable natural gas, or RNG. The RNG facility saves taxpayers about $225,000 per year.

Currently, the gas produced at the Prairie View Landfill is either captured for electrical production or burned off. With the new facility, Kinder Morgan will sell the collected landfill gas (LFG) to its customers in the transportation sector.

The company has filed a request to receive a five-year property tax abatement from the St. Joseph County Council for the new project. 

A facility designed to capture LFG typically includes a network of wells and pipes that collect methane gas from the cells of the landfill. The LFG is then “upgraded,” or converted into RNG, by separating the methane from other gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen. It may be necessary to treat the LFG before it is upgraded to prevent damage to the equipment.

The gas that is produced at Kinder Morgan’s new facility will be used to power vehicles. RNG is often used for a variety of other purposes, such as generating electricity or heating and cooking.