Landfill Gas
Northern Ontario's first Landfill Gas Generation plant fueled by methane gas from organic waste is up and running in the City of Greater Sudbury. Greater Sudbury Utilities Inc's Genco division launched its Landfill Gas Generation plant on September 6, 2007.
This 1.6 Megawatt electricity generating station, located at the City of Greater Sudbury's 27.2 hectare landfill site on the Kingsway, produces about 13 000 megawatt hours of energy annually which comparatively speaking, is enough electricity to supply approximately 1,200 homes.
The benefits of this facility are threefold. First, producing electricity from landfill gas (LFG) offers a renewable alternative to the use of fossil fuels, which generate harmful greenhouse gases. Secondly, the use of LFG as a fuel substitute for fossil diesel or petrol, to run the generator to produce electricity, results in a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Third but not least, is the ability to produce electricity from this very sustainable and secure source that not only benefits the environment but also provides a means to optimize the gas assets and do good for our local community.
Landfill gas is produced when organic waste, such as kitchen waste, decomposes inside the landfill. LFG is comprised of approximately 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide and trace amounts of other gases. Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9 - 15 years. Its effects on global warming are about 20 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Greater Sudbury Utilities LFG plant destroys about 2,700 tonnes of methane or the equivalent of 54,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
We are keen to expand the plant to include a second generator in about four years time.