Document text
Garbage gas could fuel buses, fire engines Excess methane produced from decomposing garbage at the Dry Creek Landfill could one day be converted into natural gas for buses and emergency vehicles. Photo courtesy Rogue Disposal Saturday Oct 1, 2016 at 2:00 AM Oct 2, 2016 at 10:09 AM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm Mountains of decomposing garbage at a White City landfill may produce enough natural gas to power buses, fleet vehicles and fire trucks in Jackson County.  Rogue Disposal and Recycling already uses methane to generate enough electricity for 3,200 homes, but it's considering a project that would convert excess methane into natural gas that would provide the equivalent energy of 1 million gallons of diesel fuel a year. "The potential benefits to the airshed, the local economy as well as to meet state and federal greenhouse targets are all laudable," said Mike Montero, a Medford urban development consultant for Rogue Disposal. But Rogue Disposal sees another upside to a proposed project that may cost millions of dollars and will likely require federal and state grants: The natural gas could be used to power critical emergency and service vehicles if Jackson County got hit by a major earthquake. "If there is a seismic event, we may not be able to get liquid petroleum products delivered to the valley for some time," Montero said. Rogue Disposal already uses 300,000 gallons of natural gas a year for its fleet, and many Rogue Valley Transportation District buses run on natural gas provided by Avista. Local fire districts are looking at vehicles that can run on natural gas, Montero said. In some cases, existing vehicles can be converted to run on both natural gas and conventional fuels. Laura Leebrick, community and governmental affairs manager for Rogue Disposal, said the Dry Creek Landfill produces more methane than can be consumed at the electrical generating station, which means the excess is flared off. Converting methane into recycled natural gas would require extra technology and other steps plus considerable money, she said. The dollar amount for the project hasn't been worked out yet, Leebrick said. Methane at the landfill is produced by decomposing garbage, which is piled into lined pits with horizontal and vertical pipes and then covered to prevent air from mixing with the methane. "We start pulling gas out from one of these cells after six months of putting garbage in them," Leebrick said. The idea of converting that methane into natural gas has been considered in a previous feasibility study and already has been accomplished at other landfills in the country, she said. "Clearly one of the biggest challenges that anybody faces is the investment into building out a facility as well as dealing with the ridiculously low energy prices right now," Leebrick said. With a lifespan of 100 or more years, the landfill is a prime candidate for a long-term plan to capture the methane and convert it into natural gas, she said. She said it could take years to get the project off the ground and could also depend on regulatory changes and oil prices. Recycled natural gas from a landfill has a much smaller carbon footprint than regular natural gas or gasoline because it has less production and transportation costs, Leebrick said. Transporting the natural gas locally could be accomplished by possibly putting it into Avista pipelines, or by simply filling tanks, similar to those used for backyard barbecues, Leebrick said. Rogue Disposal plans to open a natural gas fueling station this week in White City using gas supplied by Avista. Leebrick said the tanks of gas from a natural gas facility at the landfill could be sold there, as well. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.