Montana county backs proposal by Republic for gas-to-power project at landfill

A proposal by Phoenix-based Republic Services to convert gas from the Missoula County, Montana, landfill to clean electricity won the official support of the county on Oct. 20, reports the Missoula Current.

While details are few and the project isn’t yet firm, county officials said the proposal by Republic Services would go far in helping the Missoula urban area achieve its goals of operating off 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.

“Republic has discussed this possibility in the past with some of the electric co-operatives as possible off-takers of that electricity,” Diana Maneta, the county’s energy conservation and sustainability coordinator, told the Missoula Current. “This would be supportive of the city and county’s joint goal of 100% clean electricity.”

Republic Services operates 75 renewable energy projects across the country, according to the company. Its 68 gas-to-energy projects at various landfills generate enough renewable energy to fully power more than 250,000 homes each year.

The facilities collect landfill gas and convert it to a clean, renewable fuel. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), one Republic conversion at a Texas landfill reduces greenhouse gas emissions equal to more than 51,000 cars.

A similar process is being explored for the Missoula landfill.

“It’s a way to use the gas that seeps out of landfills from the decomposition of the waste,” said Maneta. “Rather than flaring that gas off, which is what Republic currently does at the Missoula landfill, they can use that gas to generate electricity.”

While Republic Services doesn’t operate any gas-to-energy projects at its Montana landfills, Flathead County operates its own. The county, in collaboration with Flathead Electric Co-Op, Kalispell, Montana, partnered on what became Montana’s first methane gas-to-energy project in 2009.

According to Flathead Electric, the plant generates enough electricity to serve up to 1,600 homes. It was made possible with $3.5 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds. The process burns the gas in an engine that drives a 1.6-megawatt electric generator connected directly to Flathead Electric’s distribution system.

“In terms of the gas fields, or how much gas is seeping out, Republic had suggested they could accommodate two generators of the size the Flathead landfill has in Missoula,” Maneta said.