Marlborough District Council says the region’s rubbish could prove the key to future power generation at Council’s Bluegums Landfill site.
Council’s Solid Waste Manager, Alec McNeil said it had identified a beneficial way to use the gas generated by rubbish as it breaks down in the landfill.
“One of the components in landfill gas is methane. Rather than burning the gas via the onsite enclosed flare we’re looking to convert the methane into electricity by using it as fuel source for a biogas plant,” Mr McNeil said.
Having sought proposals from the market, Council has selected LMS Energy Pty Limited to progress investigations into this option. LMS Energy has significant experience in power generation from landfill gas across sites in New Zealand and Australia, Council said in a statement.
Mr McNeil said the first part of the investigation will begin in coming months and will assess the current landfill gas collection system to identify how more gas can be captured. Work will then be carried out to determine if the gas capture is enough to support an onsite generator that will use the landfill gas as fuel to produce electricity, he said.
Mr McNeil said while it’s early days, it was exciting to think that the Bluegums Landfill could, in future, generate power and lower Marlborough’s overall waste emissions profile.
The Council identified the beneficial use of landfill gas as an option in the current Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.
