News
Energy created from gas at landfill
FRED CONTRADA STAFF
26 February 2008
The Republican
Hampshire/Franklin
Copyright (c) 2008. The Republican All Rights Reserved. Used by Factiva with Permission.
ART: PHOTO
The Department of Public Works has received a permit to hook additional flares into the vacuum system at the city's landfill.
NORTHAMPTON - In a high-tech version of taking life's lemons and making lemonade, Ameresco Energy Services began generating electricity yesterday from the foul-smelling gases at the city's landfill.
The Washington, D.C.-based company uses the methane produced by biodegrading organic matter in the landfill to generate power to sell on the grid. Officials are hoping that the system will simultaneously reduce the odors that have plagued neighbors for years.
As Department of Public Works Director Edward S. Huntley explained it, Ameresco draws the methane from both the capped and active portions of the landfill through perforated pipes.
Until now, much of that gas has been burned off by flares arising from the landfill. Although the flares burn at 98 percent efficiency, they do not completely eliminate methane odors.
Last summer, abutters complained that the smell from the landfill had worsened after several flares went out. Huntley said he does not know why four or five of the flares stopped burning but noted that the Department of Public Works has since installed thermal sensors that shut down the system when a flare goes out, stemming the escape of the methane gas.
In addition to the approximately 30 flares that are connected to the vacuum system feeding into the Ameresco facility, there are a number of "passive" flares that burn the gas in the immediate vicinity, Huntley said.
The city has recently received a permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to hook these into the vacuum system as well. Huntley will make a presentation on the modifications to the public at the Robert K. Finn Ryan Road Elementary School on Thursday.
According to the formula worked out between Ameresco and the city, the company will pay Northampton an estimated $10,000 to $11,000 a year for the methane plus $25,000 a year to maintain the wells. Huntley said Ameresco will pay an additional $50,000 when its facility runs at full capacity for a month and another $100,000 when it runs at full capacity for six months.
Ameresco will also pay Northampton $50,000 if the city obtains all necessary permits to expand the landfill. The ongoing debate over the landfill extension has been fueled by health and environmental concerns. Because the extension would be built over an aquifer that supplies water to Easthampton, residents in both communities have warned that it could become a source of contamination.
People who live near the present landfill also maintain that it is responsible for what they believe is a high rate of cancer and other ailments in the area. The city is awaiting the results of two health studies before proceeding with the extension.