Flathead County Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project
» See our response to public comments on this project
The Flathead County Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project is located in Kalispell, MT, about 25 miles southwest of Glacier National Park, and is the first landfill gas-to-energy project in Montana. This project benefits climate change strategies by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted to the atmosphere and providing a source of renewable energy.
A Caterpillar 3250 engine was installed in June 2009, which provides electricity for the Flathead Electric Cooperative. The landfill gas collection, which originally operated to flare gas, has been upgraded to provide improved gas collection efficiency, and will undergo expansion in the future to increase electricity output.
TerraPass funds provide the only source of revenue for Flathead County from the project. The Flathead Electric Cooperative (FEC), a locally owned and operated utility that serves the Flathead Valley and Libby areas, also receives funding from carbon credit sales. Although the FEC also receives revenue from the sale of electricity produced, electricity from the project costs materially more than electricity from non-renewable sources in the Flathead region, and so would not be an attractive investment without consideration of its environmental attributes.
TerraPass seeks to verify this project under the Voluntary Carbon Standard.
Project details
The Flathead County Landfill is publicly owned by Flathead County, and revenue from carbon credits sales from the project are shared between the county and the Flathead Electric Cooperative. Opened in 1971, the landfill is expected to operate until at least 2035, and currently accepts approximately 120,000 tons of waste per year.
The landfill site consists of 270 acres, with 150 acres permitted to accept waste and 48 acres actively accepting waste. The original unlined landfill section is undergoing closure, with a newer lined section continuing to accept waste for several years to come. These areas combined comprise the northern portion of the landfill. A new southern portion is expected to begin development in the coming years, which will further extend the life of the landfill.
The original unlined section of landfill was responsible for groundwater contamination, which led to the installation of a gas collection and flaring system in 2001. This system has been effective in treating the contamination, and is being integrated into the new energy project. Additional wells are being installed into the unlined landfill, and new wells are being placed in the lined portion as well. Methane destruction from the older flaring project will be subtracted from the project baseline, and will not be eligible for carbon credits.
The project is expected to provide 1.6 megawatts of power in six years time.
Project location
The project is located in Kalispell, Montana, approximately 25 miles southwest of Glacier National Park.
Other social and environmental benefits and costs
There are no major environmental or social costs associated with this project.
Environmental benefits
The project provides the following environmental benefits in addition to minimizing greenhouse gases:
- Odor prevention for the surrounding areas
- Improvement in air quality such as reductions in volatile organic carbon emissions
- Additional assurance of improving groundwater quality
- Renewable energy generation for the Flathead Electric Cooperative
Social benefits
Construction and ongoing operations and maintenance jobs related to the project.
Project’s ability to foster further greenhouse gas emission reductions
The project is expected to approximately double the volume of landfill gas collected over the next 6 years through expanding the existing landfill gas collection system.
Project’s environmental and social costs
Discussion of appropriate use of TerraPass funds
TerraPass considers many aspects of projects before deciding whether to fund them. Here is a summary of key considerations for this project:
Baseline conditions
Before the project came online, all methane collected was flared without any beneficial use. With the project, the extent of the active gas management system is being expanded, and the gas collected is being used to provide renewable energy.
Additionality
No regulatory requirements. At the federal level, the landfills design capacity is too small to be subject to the EPAs New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) for landfills, which means that gas collection wasnt required outside of the unlined portion of the landfill.
Barriers to implementation. While there were no regulatory barriers to implementing the project, there are clear barriers to investment in this project. Without carbon credits the cost of producing renewable energy from the land fills gas is not competitive with local energy production, and the landfill had struggled to find an end user for the gas previously.
Impact of TerraPass funds. A financial review shows that Flathead County expected to secure carbon revenues to help ensure that the project was financially viable compared to alternatives. TerraPass funds help make this renewable energy, a more costly alternative, an attractive investment for the Flathead Electric Cooperative. Carbon credits are also the sole source of revenue for the landfill from this beneficial use project.
Better than most. TerraPass seeks projects where the operations have shown good practices and avoided substantial negative impacts. Flathead County showed environmental stewardship by going beyond their obligations to work with the Flathead Electric Cooperative in developing a renewable energy project and expanding gas collection at the landfill.
